Supervising Agents

Core Principle

The dispatcher IS the supervisor. When you dispatch a task, you own the outcome.

YOU dispatch → YOU monitor → YOU verify → YOU report

If the subagent fails, YOU are responsible for catching it.
If you don't verify, YOU are responsible for the bad output.

Part 1: The 5-Phase Workflow

PREPARE ──► DISPATCH ──► MONITOR ──► VERIFY ──► REPORT
    │           │           │           │          │
    ▼           ▼           ▼           ▼          ▼
 Define      Lock in     Active      Evidence    To human
 clearly    commitment   checking    required   accountable

Part 2: PREPARE Phase

Pre-Dispatch Checklist (MUST COMPLETE)

□ TASK DEFINED
  Goal (one sentence): _______________________________
  Requirements (list ALL): _______________________________
  Deliverables (specific files): _______________________________

□ TIME SET
  Budget: _____ minutes
  Check interval: _____ minutes (rule: budget/5, min 3 min)

□ VERIFICATION PLANNED
  How to check output exists: _______________________________
  How to verify correctness: _______________________________

□ RED FLAGS DEFINED
  What "going wrong" looks like: _______________________________

Decision: Should You Dispatch?

Part 3: DISPATCH Phase

Dispatch Prompt Template

TASK: [One sentence - what success looks like]

REQUIREMENTS (complete ALL):
1. [requirement 1]
2. [requirement 2]
3. [requirement 3]

DELIVERABLES:
- [file 1] - [expected content]
- [file 2] - [expected content]

TIME: [X] minutes

─── BEFORE YOU START ───
Reply to confirm:
1. What is the goal? (your words)
2. What steps will you take?
3. How will you know you're done?

Do NOT start until you confirm.

After Dispatch: Record Agent ID

// Agent tool returns: agentId: 'abc123'
// SAVE THIS - you need it for SendMessage

const agentId = 'abc123';  // Keep track of this

Part 4: MONITOR Phase (CRITICAL)

The #1 Mistake: Passive Waiting

❌ WRONG: Dispatch → Wait → Check at end
✓ RIGHT: Dispatch → Active monitor → Intervene early

Active Monitoring Techniques

Technique 1: Output File Watching

# Check if output files exist
ls -la [expected output directory]

# Check file sizes (should be > 0)
wc -l [expected files]

# Check modification times
find . -name "*.md" -mmin -5  # Files modified in last 5 min

If no output after 1 check interval → INTERVENE NOW

Technique 2: SendMessage Probe