dispatching-parallel-agents

name	dispatching-parallel-agents
description	Use when facing 2+ independent tasks that can be worked on without shared state or sequential dependencies

Dispatching Parallel Agents

Overview

When you have multiple unrelated failures (different test files, different subsystems, different bugs), investigating them sequentially wastes time. Each investigation is independent and can happen in parallel.

Core principle: Dispatch one agent per independent problem domain.

When to Use

Use when: 3+ test files failing with different root causes, multiple subsystems broken independently, each problem can be understood without context from others.

Don't use when: Failures are related, need to understand full system state, agents would interfere.

The Pattern

1. Identify Independent Domains - Group failures by what's broken
2. Create Focused Agent Tasks - Each agent gets specific scope, clear goal, constraints
3. Dispatch in Parallel
4. Review and Integrate

Agent Prompt Structure

Good prompts are: Focused (one problem), Self-contained (all context), Specific about output.

Common Mistakes

❌ Too broad - "Fix all the tests" ❌ No context - agent doesn't know where ❌ No constraints - agent might refactor everything ❌ Vague output - you don't know what changed

Verification

After agents return: Review each summary, Check for conflicts, Run full suite, Spot check.