Split discovery and review
Give two helpers independent questions and retain one owner for the final decision.
Updated 2026-09-15
Split by question before splitting by file. Two read-only investigations often give the owner useful parallel evidence without creating conflicting edits.
Worked example: diagnose a stale screen
Illustrative.
01 · Goal
Explain why a screen does not reflect a completed operation.
02 · Setup
Supply a reproducible sequence and use configured investigation roles. Limit the assignment to two helpers and prohibit further delegation.
03 · Prompt
Helper A: trace how the operation writes durable state and reports completion.
Helper B: trace how the screen loads and refreshes that state.
Both: read only; cite files and describe ordering assumptions. Do not delegate.
Owner: compare both traces against the reproduction and identify the broken
assumption. Propose the smallest coherent correction and its verification.04 · Evidence produced
Two complementary traces and one explanation connecting the writer to the reader.
05 · User review
Check the proposed cause against the reproduction. A matching symptom is not enough; the explanation should show how the stale value survives.
If editing follows, allocate files explicitly. All helper chats in the workspace share its checkout. The owner reviews the combined diff and reports the final checks.