Parallel Dispatch Skill Skill

Parallel Dispatch Skill

Core Principle: Parallelize only when tasks are truly independent.

Decision Framework

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Are tasks independent?                  │
│ (fixing one won't affect others)        │
└─────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                  │
        ┌─────────┴─────────┐
        │                   │
       YES                  NO
        │                   │
        ▼                   ▼
┌───────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐
│ Will they     │    │   SEQUENTIAL     │
│ edit the same │    │   Execute one    │
│ files?        │    │   at a time      │
└───────┬───────┘    └──────────────────┘
        │
    ┌───┴───┐
    │       │
   NO      YES
    │       │
    ▼       ▼
┌────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐
│PARALLEL│ │   SEQUENTIAL     │
│  OK    │ │   Avoid conflicts│
└────────┘ └──────────────────┘

When to Parallelize

✅ Safe for Parallel:

Independent test failures in different files
Unrelated bugs in separate subsystems
Documentation updates to different sections
Adding features to isolated modules

❌ Must be Sequential:

Failures that share root causes
Tasks editing the same files
Changes with dependencies between them
Shared resource access (database, API limits)

Parallel Dispatch Contract

Each parallel agent receives:

| Requirement | Why | |-------------|-----| | Isolated scope | One file or subsystem only | | No shared resources | Prevent race conditions | | Independent success criteria | Can be verified alone | | Merge review after | Catch any conflicts |

Dispatch Template

For each parallel task:

task_id: [unique identifier]
scope: [specific file or subsystem]
isolation:
  files_to_edit: [list]
  files_read_only: [list]
  shared_resources: none
success_criteria:
  - [criterion 1]
  - [criterion 2]

Post-Parallel Merge Protocol

After all parallel agents complete:

Collect all outputs
Check for conflicting changes (same lines edited)
Verify each independently
Merge if no conflicts
Run full test suite
Report combined results

Example: Parallel Decision

Scenario: 6 test failures across 3 files

tests/auth.test.ts    - 2 failures (login, logout)
tests/api.test.ts     - 3 failures (get, post, delete)
tests/utils.test.ts   - 1 failure (formatDate)

Analysis:

Are they independent? YES - different test files, different functionality
Will they edit same files? NO - each test file has its own implementation
Decision: PARALLEL

Dispatch:

Agent 1: auth.test.ts failures
Agent 2: api.test.ts failures
Agent 3: utils.test.ts failures

Example: Sequential Decision

Scenario: 3 failures all mentioning "database connection"

Analysis:

Are they independent? NO - likely shared root cause
Decision: SEQUENTIAL - fix database issue first, others may resolve

Integration with Orchestration

This skill is invoked from orchestration skill when:

Multiple tasks are identified
Multiple failures need investigation
Batch execution is planned

Chain: orchestration → parallel-dispatch (decision) → executor (dispatch)

Deviation Logging

Parallel dispatch conflicts logged:

- id: [auto]
  timestamp: [now]
  expected: "Independent tasks"
  actual: "Conflicting edits to same file"
  root_cause: improper_parallelization
  fix: |
    Add file-level isolation check before parallel dispatch.
    Require explicit file lists in task contracts.

Agent Skills: Parallel Dispatch Skill

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Skill Files