/subagent-driven-development

name: subagent-driven-development
description: Use when executing implementation plans with independent tasks in the current session

Subagent-Driven Development

Execute plan by dispatching fresh subagent per task, with a single read-only task review after each — one reviewer returns a spec-compliance verdict and a code-quality verdict in one pass.

**Why subagents:** You delegate tasks to specialized agents with isolated context. By precisely crafting their instructions and context, you ensure they stay focused and succeed at their task. They should never inherit your session's context or history — you construct exactly what they need. This also preserves your own context for coordination work.

**Core principle:** Fresh subagent per task + a single read-only task review (spec + quality verdicts in one pass) = high quality, fast iteration

**Continuous execution:** Do not pause to check in with your human partner between tasks. Execute all tasks from the plan without stopping. The only reasons to stop are: BLOCKED status you cannot resolve, ambiguity that genuinely prevents progress, or all tasks complete. "Should I continue?" prompts and progress summaries waste their time — they asked you to execute the plan, so execute it.

When to Use

digraph when_to_use {
    "Have implementation plan?" [shape=diamond];
    "Tasks mostly independent?" [shape=diamond];
    "Stay in this session?" [shape=diamond];
    "subagent-driven-development" [shape=box];
    "executing-plans" [shape=box];
    "Manual execution or brainstorm first" [shape=box];

    "Have implementation plan?" -> "Tasks mostly independent?" [label="yes"];
    "Have implementation plan?" -> "Manual execution or brainstorm first" [label="no"];
    "Tasks mostly independent?" -> "Stay in this session?" [label="yes"];
    "Tasks mostly independent?" -> "Manual execution or brainstorm first" [label="no - tightly coupled"];
    "Stay in this session?" -> "subagent-driven-development" [label="yes"];
    "Stay in this session?" -> "executing-plans" [label="no - parallel session"];
}

**vs. Executing Plans (parallel session):**

• Same session (no context switch)
• Fresh subagent per task (no context pollution)
• One task review after each task: spec-compliance and code-quality verdicts in a single read-only pass
• Faster iteration (no human-in-loop between tasks)

Pre-Flight Plan Review

Before dispatching Task 1, scan the plan once for conflicts:

• tasks that contradict each other or the plan's Global Constraints
• anything the plan explicitly mandates that the review rubric treats as a defect (a test that asserts nothing, verbatim duplication of a logic block)

Present everything you find to your human partner as **one batched structured question** — each finding beside the plan text that mandates it, asking which governs — before execution begins, not one interrupt per discovery mid-plan. If the scan is clean, proceed without comment. The review loop remains the net for conflicts that only emerge from implementation.

The Process (Sequential Mode)

> This section describes **sequential execution** — one task at a time in a shared epic worktree. This is the default when tasks have dependencies or only one task is unblocked. For parallel execution of independent tasks, see **Parallel Batch Mode** below.

digraph process {
    rankdir=TB;

    subgraph cluster_per_task {
        label="Per Task";
        "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)" [shape=box];
        "Implementer subagent asks questions?" [shape=diamond];
        "Answer questions, provide context" [shape=box];
        "Implementer subagent implements, tests, commits, self-reviews" [shape=box];
        "Dispatch task reviewer subagent (./task-reviewer-prompt.md)" [shape=box];
        "Task reviewer: spec compliant AND quality approved?" [shape=diamond];
        "Fix round (max 5): FRESH implementer + scoped re-review (./re-review-prompt.md)" [shape=box];
        "Re-review PASS and full suite green?" [shape=diamond];
        "Breaker: file findings, block task (references/breaker-trip.md)" [shape=box];
        "bd close <task-id> --reason 'Completed'" [shape=box];
    }

    "Read plan, extract all tasks, create epic bead + child beads (bd create)" [shape=box];
    "More tasks remain?" [shape=diamond];
    "Dispatch final code reviewer subagent for entire implementation" [shape=box];
    "Use beads-superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightgreen];

    "Read plan, extract all tasks, create epic bead + child beads (bd create)" -> "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)";
    "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)" -> "Implementer subagent asks questions?";
    "Implementer subagent asks questions?" -> "Answer questions, provide context" [label="yes"];
    "Answer questions, provide context" -> "Dispatch implementer subagent (./implementer-prompt.md)";
    "Implementer subagent asks questions?" -> "Implementer subagent implements, tests, commits, self-reviews" [label="no"];
    "Implementer subagent implements, tests, commits, self-reviews" -> "Dispatch task reviewer subagent (./task-reviewer-prompt.md)";
    "Dispatch task reviewer subagent (./task-reviewer-prompt.md)" -> "Task reviewer: spec compliant AND quality approved?";
    "Task reviewer: spec compliant AND quality approved?" -> "Fix round (max 5): FRESH implementer + scoped re-review (./re-review-prompt.md)" [label="no"];
    "Fix round (max 5): FRESH implementer + scoped re-review (./re-review-prompt.md)" -> "Re-review PASS and full suite green?";
    "Re-review PASS and full suite green?" -> "bd close <task-id> --reason 'Completed'" [label="yes"];
    "Re-review PASS and full suite green?" -> "Fix round (max 5): FRESH implementer + scoped re-review (./re-review-prompt.md)" [label="no - round < 5"];
    "Re-review PASS and full suite green?" -> "Breaker: file findings, block task (ref