Multi-Agent Workflow Guide
Scheduling
Goal
Guide manual multi-agent coordination for complex work that spans PM, frontend, backend, mobile, and QA responsibilities.
Intent signature
- User wants step-by-step coordination, manual agent spawning, or multi-domain work planning without full automation.
- Task spans multiple specialist agents and requires contract alignment.
When to use
- Complex feature spanning multiple domains (full-stack, mobile)
- Coordination needed between frontend, backend, mobile, and QA
- User wants step-by-step guidance for multi-agent coordination
When NOT to use
- Simple single-domain task -> use the specific agent directly
- User wants automated execution -> use orchestrator
- Quick bug fixes or minor changes
- Complex feature or project goal
- Required domains and priority tiers
- Workspace/session constraints and API/data contract needs
Expected outputs
- Manual coordination sequence
- PM task decomposition, agent spawn order, monitoring guidance, and QA review step
- API/data contract alignment checkpoints
Dependencies
- PM, frontend, backend, mobile, QA, and orchestrator skills
- CLI
oma agent spawn and progress/result memory conventions
Control-flow features
- Branches by task complexity, priority tiers, dependency ordering, and whether automation is desired
- Spawns independent same-priority tasks in parallel when appropriate
- Monitors progress files and contract alignment
Structural Flow
Entry
- Confirm the task is complex enough for multi-agent coordination.
- Reuse a current plan and handoff state; use PM when task decomposition or contract changes are needed.
- Identify priority tiers and shared contracts.
Scenes
- PREPARE: Define session, domains, and task decomposition needs.
- ACT: Spawn agents by priority with separate workspaces.
- VERIFY: Monitor progress and API/data contract alignment.
- FINALIZE: Run QA review and coordinate remediation.
Transitions
- If task is simple, route to one specialist.
- If user wants automated execution, use orchestrator.
- If QA reports a blocking defect or required verification gap, route the affected work to the responsible agent within the existing recovery budget.
Failure and recovery
- If contracts diverge, pause downstream frontend/mobile work until backend/API contract is reconciled.
- If agent workspaces conflict, split ownership boundaries.
- If progress stalls, inspect progress files and reissue focused instructions.
Exit
- Success: specialist outputs are coordinated and QA-reviewed.
- Partial success: blocked agents, contract conflicts, or QA failures are explicit.
Logical Operations
Actions
| Action | SSL primitive | Evidence |
|---|
| Read request and domains | READ | User prompt and project context |
| Select agent plan | SELECT | PM decomposition and priority tiers |
| Spawn agents | CALL_TOOL | oma agent spawn |
| Monitor progress | READ | injected task/run-scoped progress, claims, and receipts |
| Validate contracts | VALIDATE | API/data model alignment |
| Notify coordination status | NOTIFY | Final coordination summary |
oma agent spawn, PM/frontend/backend/mobile/QA agents
- Memory/progress/result files
- Configured code intelligence, with native fallback per
../_shared/core/code-intelligence.md
Canonical command path
When native runtime dispatch is available (per-agent target vendor equals the current runtime vendor), prefer the runtime's native subagent path and use oma agent spawn as the cross-vendor fallback — same resolution rule as oma-orchestration.
Useful agent spawn options: --vendor <vendor> (CLI vendor override), --isolation worktree (git worktree per spawn, prevents file conflicts), --read-only (non-destructive tools only, e.g. for review/QA passes).
Resource scope
| Scope | Resource target |
|---|
LOCAL_FS | Progress/result files and workspaces |
PROCESS | Agent spawn commands |
MEMORY | Session state and task board |
CODEBASE | Shared contracts and implementation areas |
Preconditions
- Task requires multiple domains.
- A current plan identifies task ownership, acceptance checks, dependencies, and priority tiers.
Effects and side effects
- Spawns or guides multiple agents.
- Coordinates workspace ownership and QA feedback.
Guardrails
- Reuse a valid plan; call PM only when decomposition or contract changes are required
- Spawn independent tasks in parallel (same priority tier)
- Reuse or update contracts for changed API boundaries before dependent frontend/mobile work
- QA review is always the final step
- Assign separate workspaces to avoid file conflicts (or use
--isolation worktree for a git worktree per spawn)
- Follow
../_shared/core/code-intelligence.md: discover configured tools, do not auto-install or track, and use native search only for paths outside this project or ignored paths when unavailable or timed out
- Resume from the current handoff state and execute applicable steps in dependency order; record why a branch is not applicable
Workflow
Step 1: Plan with PM Agent
Reuse an existing valid plan. Otherwise, PM analyzes requirements and creates the task breakdown, acceptance checks, contracts, and priorities. Preserve injected session/task/run IDs; do not regenerate a plan already frozen by dispatch.
Step 2: Spawn Agents by Priority
Resolve the dispatch path per agent, then spawn:
- Resolve the per-agent target vendor from oma-config.yaml (
agents: override, else model_preset)
- If the target vendor equals the current runtime vendor and a native subagent path exists, use native dispatch
- Otherwise use
oma agent spawn for that agent
- Spawn all same-priority tasks in parallel using background processes
Step 3: Monitor & Coordinate
- Read injected run artifacts and receipts. Human-readable progress/results use
{memoryConfig.basePath}/progress-{agentId}-{taskId}-{runId}-{sessionId}.md and the corresponding result- name; see ../_shared/runtime/memory-protocol.md. Keep the structured claim path unchanged.
- Verify API contracts align between agents
- Ensure shared data models are consistent
Step 4: QA Review
Review the coordinated deliverables with QA. Resolve blocking defects and required verification gaps through the responsible agents; rerun affected checks before finalizing.
Automated Alternative
For fully automated execution without manual spawning, use the orchestrator skill instead.
References