Agent Workflow Spec Template
A specification for a multi-stage agent workflow: actors, stages, skills per stage, handoffs, and verification gates. Copy it below, fill the bracketed fields, delete what you don't need.
# Workflow spec: [name]
## Goal
[The outcome, stated so success is checkable.]
## Actors
| Actor | Type | Responsibility |
|-------|------|----------------|
| [orchestrator] | agent | [dispatch, integration] |
| [worker] | subagent | [scoped task] |
| [approver] | human | [gates below] |
## Stages
| # | Stage | Actor | Skills used | Verification gate |
|---|-------|-------|-------------|-------------------|
| 1 | [name] | [actor] | [skill] | [evidence checked before stage 2] |
| 2 | [name] | [actor] | [skill] | [gate] |
## Handoffs
- [Stage 1 to 2]: brief contains [inputs]; success criterion: [criterion]
## Human gates
- [Stage N]: required because [consequence]; approver sees [state, options, recommendation]
## Failure handling
- Stage failure: [retry with diagnosis / backtrack / escalate]
- Workflow abort conditions: [list]
## Observability
- Logged per stage: [artifacts]
- Trace storage: [where]
Field notes
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Verification gate column | A stage without a gate is a rumor passed forward. Every row needs evidence, not a description of good intentions. |
| Handoffs | Write each brief as if the receiving agent knows nothing, because it doesn't. Handoff quality is brief quality. |