team-tech-debt

---
name: team-tech-debt
description: Unified team skill for tech debt identification and remediation. Scans codebase for tech debt, assesses severity, plans and executes fixes with validation. Uses team-worker agent architecture with roles/ for domain logic. Coordinator orchestrates pipeline, workers are team-worker agents. Triggers on "team tech debt".
allowed-tools: spawn_agent(*), wait_agent(*), send_message(*), followup_task(*), close_agent(*), list_agents(*), report_agent_job_result(*), request_user_input(*), Read(*), Write(*), Edit(*), Bash(*), Glob(*), Grep(*), mcp__ace-tool__search_context(*), mcp__ccw-tools__read_file(*), mcp__ccw-tools__write_file(*), mcp__ccw-tools__edit_file(*), mcp__ccw-tools__team_msg(*)
---

# Team Tech Debt

Systematic tech debt governance: scan -> assess -> plan -> fix -> validate. Built on **team-worker agent architecture** — all worker roles share a single agent definition with role-specific Phase 2-4 loaded from `roles/<role>/role.md`.

## Architecture

```
Skill(skill="team-tech-debt", args="task description")
                    |
         SKILL.md (this file) = Router
                    |
     +--------------+--------------+
     |                             |
  no --role flag              --role <name>
     |                             |
  Coordinator                  Worker
  roles/coordinator/role.md    roles/<name>/role.md
     |
     +-- analyze → dispatch → spawn workers → STOP
                                    |
                    +-------+-------+-------+-------+
                    v       v       v       v       v
           [team-worker agents, each loads roles/<role>/role.md]
          scanner  assessor  planner  executor  validator
```

## Role Registry

| Role | Path | Prefix | Inner Loop |
|------|------|--------|------------|
| coordinator | [roles/coordinator/role.md](roles/coordinator/role.md) | — | — |
| scanner | [roles/scanner/role.md](roles/scanner/role.md) | TDSCAN-* | false |
| assessor | [roles/assessor/role.md](roles/assessor/role.md) | TDEVAL-* | false |
| planner | [roles/planner/role.md](roles/planner/role.md) | TDPLAN-* | false |
| executor | [roles/executor/role.md](roles/executor/role.md) | TDFIX-* | true |
| validator | [roles/validator/role.md](roles/validator/role.md) | TDVAL-* | false |

## Role Router

Parse `$ARGUMENTS`:
- Has `--role <name>` → Read `roles/<name>/role.md`, execute Phase 2-4
- No `--role` → `roles/coordinator/role.md`, execute entry router

## Delegation Lock

**Coordinator is a PURE ORCHESTRATOR. It coordinates, it does NOT do.**

Before calling ANY tool, apply this check:

| Tool Call | Verdict | Reason |
|-----------|---------|--------|
| `spawn_agent`, `wait_agent`, `close_agent`, `send_message`, `followup_task` | ALLOWED | Orchestration |
| `list_agents` | ALLOWED | Agent health check |
| `request_user_input` | ALLOWED | User interaction |
| `mcp__ccw-tools__team_msg` | ALLOWED | Message bus |
| `Read/Write` on `.workflow/.team/` files | ALLOWED | Session state |
| `Read` on `roles/`, `commands/`, `specs/` | ALLOWED | Loading own instructions |
| `Read/Grep/Glob` on project source code | BLOCKED | Delegate to worker |
| `Edit` on any file outside `.workflow/` | BLOCKED | Delegate to worker |
| `Bash("ccw cli ...")` | BLOCKED | Only workers call CLI |
| `Bash` running build/test/lint commands | BLOCKED | Delegate to worker |

**If a tool call is BLOCKED**: STOP. Create a task, spawn a worker.

**No exceptions for "simple" tasks.** Even a single-file read-and-report MUST go through spawn_agent.

---

## Shared Constants

- **Session prefix**: `TD`
- **Session path**: `.workflow/.team/TD-<date>-<slug>/`
- **CLI tools**: `ccw cli --mode analysis` (read-only), `ccw cli --mode write` (modifications)
- **Message bus**: `mcp__ccw-tools__team_msg(session_id=<session-id>, ...)`
- **Max GC rounds**: 3

## Worker Spawn Template

Coordinator spawns workers using this template:

```
spawn_agent({
  agent_type: "team_worker",
  task_name: "<task-id>",
  fork_turns: "none",
  message: `## Role Assignment
role: <role>
role_spec: <skill_root>/roles/<role>/role.md
session: <session-folder>
session_id: <session-id>
requirement: <task-description>
inner_loop: <true|false>

Read role_spec file (<skill_root>/roles/<role>/role.md) to load Phase 2-4 domain instructions.

## Task Context
task_id: <task-id>
title: <task-title>
description: <task-description>
pipeline_phase: <pipeline-phase>

## Upstream Context
<prev_context>`
})
```

After spawning, use `wait_agent({ timeout_ms: 1800000 })` to collect results. If `result.timed_out`, send STATUS_CHECK via followup_task (wait 3 min), then FINALIZE with interrupt (wait 3 min), then mark timed_out and close agents. Use `close_agent({ target })` each worker.


### Model Selection Guide

Tech debt follows a discovery-to-fix pipeline. Scanner is broad/fast, later stages need deeper reasoning.

| Role | reasoning_effort | Rationale |
|------|-------------------|-----------|
| scanner | medium | Broad codebase scan, pattern matching over deep analysis |
| assessor | high | Severity assessment requires understanding impact and risk |
| planner | high | Remediation planning must prioritize and sequence fixes |
| executor | high | Code fixes must preserve behavior while removing debt |
| validator | medium | Validation follows defined acceptance criteria |

### Pipeline Pattern: Scanner Results Inform Downstream

Scanner discoveries flow through the pipeline — each stage narrows and refines:
1. TDSCAN produces broad debt inventory
2. TDEVAL assesses and prioritizes (filters low-impact items)
3. TDPLAN creates sequenced fix plan from assessed items
4. TDFIX implements fixes per plan
5. TDVAL validates fixes against original debt findings

## User Commands

| Command | Action |
|---------|--------|
| `check` / `status` | View execution status graph |
| `resume` / `continue` | Advance to next step |
| `--mode=scan` | Run scan-only pipeline (TDSCAN + TDEVAL) |
| `--mode=targeted` | Run targeted pipeline (TDPLAN + TDFIX + TDVAL) |
| `--mode=remediate` | Run full pipeline (default) |
| `-y` / `--yes` | Skip confirmations |

## Specs Reference

- [specs/pipelines.md](specs/pipelines.md) — Pipeline definitions and task registry

## Session Directory

```
.workflow/.team/TD-<date>-<slug>/
├── .msg/
│   ├── messages.jsonl      # Team message bus
│   └── meta.json           # Pipeline config + role state snapshot
├── scan/                   # Scanner output
├── assessment/             # Assessor output
├── plan/                   # Planner output
├── fixes/                  # Executor output
├── validation/             # Validator output
└── wisdom/                 # Cross-task knowledge
```

## v4 Agent Coordination

### Message Semantics

| Intent | API | Example |
|--------|-----|---------|
| Queue supplementary info (don't interrupt) | `send_message` | Send scan findings to running assessor |
| Assign fix from remediation plan | `followup_task` | Assign TDFIX task from planner output |
| Check running agents | `list_agents` | Verify agent health during resume |

### Agent Health Check

Use `list_agents({})` in handleResume and handleComplete:

```
// Reconcile session state with actual running agents
const running = list_agents({})
// Compare with meta.json active tasks
// Reset orphaned tasks (in_progress but agent gone) to pending
```

### Named Agent Targeting

Workers are spawned with `task_name: "<task-id>"` enabling direct addressing:
- `send_message({ target: "TDSCAN-001", message: "..." })` -- send additional scan scope to scanner
- `followup_task({ target: "TDFIX-001", message: "..." })` -- assign fix task from planner output
- `close_agent({ target: "TDVAL-001" })` -- cleanup after validation

## Error Handling

| Scenario | Resolution |
|----------|------------|
| Unknown command | Error with available command list |
| Role not found | Error with role registry |
| Session corruption | Attempt recovery, fallback to manual |
| Fast-advance conflict | Coordinator reconciles on next callback |
| Completion action fails | Default to Keep Active |
| Scanner finds no debt | Report clean codebase, skip to summary |