--- name: delegation-prompt-crafter description: Transform clarified user requests into structured delegation prompts optimized for specialist agents (cto-architect, strategic-cto-mentor, cv-ml-architect). Use after clarification is complete, before routing to specialist agents. Ensures agents receive complete context for effective work. --- # Delegation Prompt Crafter Creates structured, context-rich prompts for specialist agents that maximize their effectiveness and minimize back-and-forth. ## When to Use - After clarification-protocol has resolved ambiguities - When routing to cto-architect for design work - When routing to strategic-cto-mentor for validation - When routing to cv-ml-architect for ML-specific architecture - For any handoff between agents in a workflow ## Why This Matters Specialist agents work best with: 1. **Clear context**: Business goals, constraints, current state 2. **Specific task**: Exactly what deliverable is expected 3. **Structured requirements**: Must-haves vs nice-to-haves 4. **Quality criteria**: How to evaluate success Without this structure, agents may: - Ask redundant questions (wasting time) - Solve the wrong problem (misunderstanding context) - Over-engineer or under-engineer (missing constraints) - Produce outputs in wrong format (unclear expectations) ## Delegation Prompt Structure Every delegation prompt follows this format: ```markdown ## CONTEXT ### Business Goal [What business outcome this serves] ### Current State [Relevant existing systems, constraints, decisions] ### Key Constraints - [Constraint 1: e.g., "Budget: < $10K/month infrastructure"] - [Constraint 2: e.g., "Timeline: MVP in 8 weeks"] - [Constraint 3: e.g., "Team: 3 senior engineers, Python/React expertise"] ### Background Information [Any relevant context from clarification or previous agents] --- ## TASK ### Primary Deliverable [Exactly what output is expected] ### Format Requirements [Structure, sections, level of detail expected] ### Scope Boundaries - **In scope**: [What to cover] - **Out of scope**: [What to explicitly exclude] --- ## REQUIREMENTS ### Must-Haves - [Critical requirement 1] - [Critical requirement 2] ### Nice-to-Haves - [Optional enhancement 1] - [Optional enhancement 2] ### Quality Criteria - [Criterion 1: e.g., "Architecture must support 10x growth"] - [Criterion 2: e.g., "Trade-offs explicitly documented"] ### Integration Points - [What this output feeds into: e.g., "Will be validated by strategic-cto-mentor"] - [What depends on this: e.g., "Development team will implement from this"] --- ## ADDITIONAL CONTEXT [Any other relevant information, links to documentation, previous decisions, etc.] ``` ## Agent-Specific Templates See the prompt-templates folder for pre-built templates: - [architect-delegation.md](prompt-templates/architect-delegation.md) - For cto-architect design work - [mentor-delegation.md](prompt-templates/mentor-delegation.md) - For strategic-cto-mentor validation - [ml-architect-delegation.md](prompt-templates/ml-architect-delegation.md) - For cv-ml-architect ML work ## Crafting Guidelines ### Context Section **Business Goal**: Be specific about outcomes, not activities - Bad: "Build a notification system" - Good: "Enable real-time alerts so users act on time-sensitive events, reducing missed opportunities by 50%" **Current State**: Include what exists and what's working - Existing architecture and tech stack - Pain points with current solution - Previous attempts and why they failed - Existing integrations that must be preserved **Constraints**: Be explicit about non-negotiables - Budget (infrastructure and development) - Timeline (deadlines, milestones) - Team (size, skills, availability) - Technical (must-use technologies, compliance) - Political (stakeholder preferences, past decisions) ### Task Section **Primary Deliverable**: One clear output - Bad: "Help us with the architecture" - Good: "Provide a system architecture design document with component diagrams, data flow, and technology recommendations" **Format Requirements**: Specify structure - "7-section architecture document per standard format" - "Executive summary (2 pages max) + detailed appendix" - "Focus on Phase 1 MVP, with notes on Phase 2 considerations" **Scope Boundaries**: Prevent scope creep - Explicitly state what's NOT included - Call out decisions already made - Identify what other agents will handle ### Requirements Section **Must-Haves vs Nice-to-Haves**: Force prioritization - Must-haves are blocking—solution fails without them - Nice-to-haves are enhancements—can be deferred **Quality Criteria**: Measurable success - "Latency < 200ms at p95" - "Support 100K concurrent users" - "Cost < $5K/month at launch scale" **Integration Points**: Connect the workflow - What happens after this agent finishes? - Who consumes this output? - What format do downstream consumers need? ## Common Mistakes to Avoid ### 1. The Information Dump **Bad**: Copying entire conversation history into delegation **Good**: Distill to relevant context only ### 2. The Vague Task **Bad**: "Design a good system" **Good**: "Design a notification system architecture that supports 100K users, uses our existing PostgreSQL database, and costs < $2K/month" ### 3. The Missing Constraints **Bad**: Letting agent assume unlimited budget/time **Good**: Explicitly stating constraints, even if flexible ### 4. The Forgotten Handoff **Bad**: No mention of what happens next **Good**: "This design will be validated by strategic-cto-mentor before implementation begins" ## Output Examples ### Example 1: Architecture Delegation ```markdown ## CONTEXT ### Business Goal Enable customers to receive real-time notifications for order status changes, reducing support tickets about "where's my order" by 60%. ### Current State - Monolithic Node.js backend, PostgreSQL database - Notifications currently sent via email batch (hourly) - 50K active users, expecting 200K in 12 months - Mobile app (React Native) and web app (React) ### Key Constraints - Budget: < $3K/month additional infrastructure - Timeline: MVP in 6 weeks, full rollout in 10 weeks - Team: 2 backend engineers, 1 mobile engineer - Must integrate with existing authentication system ### Background Information User research shows 73% of support tickets are order status questions. Push notifications tested well in user interviews. --- ## TASK ### Primary Deliverable System architecture design for real-time notification system ### Format Requirements Standard 7-section architecture document: 1. Executive Summary 2. System Architecture (with diagrams) 3. Technology Stack Justification 4. Implementation Roadmap 5. Risk Assessment 6. Code Examples (WebSocket integration) 7. Deployment Strategy ### Scope Boundaries - **In scope**: Backend notification service, mobile push integration, delivery tracking - **Out of scope**: Email notifications (keep existing), SMS notifications (Phase 2) --- ## REQUIREMENTS ### Must-Haves - Real-time delivery (< 5 second latency) - Support for 200K users with 20% daily active - Push notifications on iOS and Android - Fallback to email if push fails ### Nice-to-Haves - Notification preferences per user - Read receipts / delivery confirmation - Rich notifications with images ### Quality Criteria - p95 latency < 5 seconds from event to notification - 99.9% delivery success rate - Infrastructure cost < $3K/month at 200K users ### Integration Points - Will be validated by strategic-cto-mentor before implementation - Development team will implement from this architecture - Must integrate with existing user service for preferences --- ## ADDITIONAL CONTEXT Previous attempt at WebSockets failed due to connection management complexity. Team prefers managed solutions where possible. AWS is our cloud provider. ``` ## Validation Checklist Before sending delegation prompt, verify: - [ ] Business goal is outcome-focused, not activity-focused - [ ] All critical constraints are explicitly stated - [ ] Task is specific with clear deliverable - [ ] Format requirements are defined - [ ] Scope boundaries prevent scope creep - [ ] Must-haves are truly must-haves (not nice-to-haves in disguise) - [ ] Quality criteria are measurable - [ ] Integration points explain the workflow context - [ ] No vague terms or buzzwords remain ## References - [Architect Delegation Template](prompt-templates/architect-delegation.md) - [Mentor Delegation Template](prompt-templates/mentor-delegation.md) - [ML Architect Delegation Template](prompt-templates/ml-architect-delegation.md)