Skip to main content

Getting Other Agents to Help Your Project (Without Losing Quality)

· 4 min read
VibeGov Team

A pattern that works well in real project delivery is splitting responsibilities across agents with clear contracts.

In current VibeGov terms, this is really a coordinated Development + Exploration operating model:

  • the builder primarily runs in Development mode
  • the validator primarily runs in Exploration mode
  • release handoff introduces Release / Verification checks

The pattern​

Use two independent lanes:

  1. Builder lane (shipping agent)

    • implements features/fixes
    • runs tests
    • produces commits/artifacts

  2. Validator lane (independent QA/spec agent)

    • behaves like a normal user
    • opens the app in browser and clicks real flows
    • checks every clickable action (plus keyboard paths)
    • compares behavior against OpenSpec/contracts
    • creates focused backlog issues for each mismatch

This is exactly the setup where one agent is busy building and another agent/device is continuously validating outcomes against real UI behavior.

Why this works​

  • Separation of concern: builder optimizes for delivery, validator optimizes for correctness.
  • Reduced bias: independent validation catches assumptions the builder misses.
  • Faster backlog hardening: defects become concrete, reproducible issues quickly.
  • Spec quality improves: uncovered behaviors force explicit requirement IDs and test mappings.

Operating contract​

For each discovered gap, enforce:

  1. Issue
  2. Spec update (append-only IDs)
  3. Validation evidence
  4. Commit linked to issue

No “done” without runnable proof.

  • Builder runs continuously through priority backlog.
  • Validator runs on a fixed schedule (for example, every 45–60 minutes) and after major merges.
  • Release-aware checks can skip full reruns if build/version hasn’t changed.

Minimum evidence bundle per validation cycle​

  • audited screens list
  • action inventory (every clickable)
  • pass/fail per action
  • keyboard traversal evidence (Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space)
  • persistence/mutation verification where actions claim to save, delete, sync, import, or reconfigure
  • issue files for failures with expected vs actual
  • spec coverage reconciliation notes
  • explicit completeness status for the validation scope

Required issue fields (for validator-created backlog items)​

When the validator opens an issue, include these fields every time:

  • Screen/route: exact URL/route where failure occurred
  • Control type: button/link/icon/menu item/form field/dialog action
  • Expected intent: what should happen (route/state/data/error)
  • Actual result: what happened instead
  • Repro steps: shortest deterministic path
  • Evidence links: screenshot/video/report path
  • Spec link/ID: existing requirement ID or SPEC_GAP
  • Suggested fix path: likely file/module owner

This keeps backlog items implementation-ready and eliminates “cannot reproduce” churn.

UI layering checks you should always include​

Agents often miss visual-layer defects that humans catch immediately. Make these first-class checks:

  • Dialog visibility: modal/drawer appears when triggered and remains visible while active
  • Focus trap: keyboard focus stays in dialog while open
  • Backdrop behavior: backdrop blocks underlying clicks while modal is active
  • Z-index correctness: dialogs/toasts/menus are not hidden behind headers/sidebars/dev overlays
  • Escape/Close behavior: Esc, close icon, and Cancel all behave consistently

If any layering issue is found, file a dedicated issue (don’t bury it under generic “UI bug”).

CI handoff pattern (dev bot → validator bot)​

A robust release handoff for bot teams:

  1. Dev bot pushes issue-linked commit.
  2. Dev bot monitors pipeline trigger for up to 30 seconds.
    • Poll CI by commit SHA every ~5s.
  3. If CI run appears:
    • post run URL + SHA in issue evidence comment,
    • hand off to validator bot.
  4. If CI run fails early:
    • update same issue with failing job/step/log snippet,
    • fix immediately on the same ticket,
    • commit/push again with same issue prefix.
  5. If no CI run appears within 30s:
    • create/update P0 CI-trigger blocker issue,
    • stop downstream handoff until trigger is restored.

This prevents false “done” states where code is pushed but release validation never actually started.

Practical tips​

  • Keep one issue per failed behavior.
  • Keep commits scoped to one issue whenever possible.
  • Track unresolved blockers publicly in backlog (don’t hide them in chat).
  • Treat spec drift as a first-class defect.
  • For release workflows, always include commit SHA + CI run URL in handoff comments.

If you run this loop consistently, backlog quality improves while velocity stays high—because Development and Exploration happen in parallel, not serially.