Rule
Give each job the smallest sufficient agent: one bounded job, one fresh context window, no more machinery than the job needs.
The corollary cuts the other way: a one-shot task gets no orchestration. If a single agent with a clear brief can finish the job, adding coordination layers only adds failure modes. Scale the agent shape to the work: split when context needs differ; keep one agent when they don't.
Put It to Work
- Scope each assignment tightly enough that completion is obvious.
- Split research, implementation, review, and release work when their context needs differ.
- Start a new session for a new phase instead of appending work to a saturated thread.
- Reach for a single agent first; add coordination only when the work demonstrably exceeds one.
Failure Signal
- A research-heavy session starts editing code from stale assumptions.
- A five-minute fix acquires a plan, a queue, and three coordinating agents.
- The task cannot be summarized in one sentence.
- The session is kept alive because "it already knows the project."
Done Looks Like
The agent has one job, one owner, one workspace, and a clear stopping condition. The setup is no bigger than the job required.