/temper

name: temper
description: "Use when the workflow feels over-engineered, has premature optimizations, unnecessary abstraction layers, or complexity beyond actual requirements."
argument-hint: "[target]"
category: enhancement
version: 2.0.0
user-invocable: true

MANDATORY PREPARATION

Invoke /agent-workflow — it contains workflow principles, anti-patterns, and the **Context Gathering Protocol**. Follow the protocol before proceeding — if no workflow context exists yet, you MUST run /teach-maestro first. Consult the agent-architecture reference in the agent-workflow skill for topology patterns and when multi-agent is justified.

---

Pull back from over-engineering. The most common mistake isn't building too little — it's building too much.

Over-Engineering Detection

**Signs you've over-engineered:**

• Multi-agent for a single-agent problem
• Premature optimization before you have performance data
• Abstraction layers with one implementation
• Configuration for things that never change
• Evaluation loops on non-critical outputs
• Framework before features

The Complexity Test

For each component:

1. **Is this solving a problem we actually have?** (not "might have") 2. **Is this the simplest solution that works?** 3. **Would removing this break anything?** (if not, remove it) 4. **Can someone new understand this in 5 minutes?** (if not, simplify)

Tempering Strategies

**Collapse Unnecessary Agents**

OVER-ENGINEERED: User → Classifier → Router → Specialist → Formatter → Checker (6 components)
TEMPERED: User → Single Agent with good prompt (1 component, same quality)

**Remove Premature Abstraction**

OVER-ENGINEERED: class AgentOrchestrator with 5 strategy interfaces
TEMPERED: async function runWorkflow(input) — direct, readable

**Simplify Configuration**

OVER-ENGINEERED: config.yaml (200 lines, 47 params, 3 inheritance levels)
TEMPERED: config.yaml (20 lines, essential params only, sensible defaults)

What NOT to Temper

• Error handling — essential, not overhead
• Logging — saves you when things go wrong
• Input validation — prevents cascading failures
• Core guardrails — safety is non-negotiable
• The golden test set — how you know it still works

Recommended Next Step

After tempering, run `/evaluate` to confirm quality is preserved, or `/diagnose` for a full health check.

**NEVER**:

• Temper without measuring output quality before and after
• Remove error handling in the name of simplicity
• Simplify below the level of correctness
• Remove features users actively rely on