Chapter 03 / 08

Keep work bounded

Give each change a scope, an owner, a lane, and an observable finish line.

Give the agent a coherent claim to close

A useful tranche connects one scope to a clear acceptance decision. Velocity does not prescribe sprint length, story points, or a planning ceremony. It asks whether the work is small enough for its authority and proof to remain clear.

For substantive work, use the full task frame. Its fields connect the goal to lifecycle stage, abstraction layer, lane, mode, constraints, completion criteria, proof, and branch state. This short illustration shows the relationship between several of those fields:

Goal: Preserve the accepted list preference across login.
Lane: Local implementation.
Mode: Patching.
Scope: Preference persistence and its regression proof.
Done: The accepted logout/login scenario passes locally.
Proof: Class A scenario, with supporting runtime checks.
Next: Acceptance review; promotion remains a separate action.

Distinguish lane from mode

The lane tells you where the work and evidence apply: repository, local runtime, staging, host-qualified verification, promotion, or architecture decision. The mode tells you what behavior is authorized: capture, validation, patching, promotion, or process evolution.

Observing a production defect in validation mode does not silently become permission to patch production. A local test passing does not move its evidence into the staging lane. Name a transition when either the authority or the claim changes.

Split at a meaningful boundary

Split work when it mixes unrelated issues, unsettled acceptance criteria, architecture and implementation, or local patching and live promotion. Keep it together when one owner can accept a coherent scope and the proof supports one claim.

More parallel sessions increase the need for clear boundaries. Assign isolated work where practical, name shared files, and decide who integrates. The number of active agents is not a measure of delivered value.

Leave a usable handoff

The next role needs the current state, available proof, counter-evidence, unknowns, protected artifacts, and next acceptance condition. Link durable evidence rather than expecting a chat summary to carry the whole task.

Finish with a branch disposition: merged, ready for review, parked, abandoned, or another explicit state supported by the project. Stale branches and ambiguous ownership make old work look actionable.