Agent Quality Critique Dimensions

Use these dimensions when reviewing or validating agent definitions.

Dimension 1: Template Compliance

Does the agent follow official Claude Code format?

Check: YAML frontmatter with name and description (required) | Markdown body as system prompt | No embedded YAML config blocks | No activation-instructions or IDE-FILE-RESOLUTION sections | Skills referenced in frontmatter, not inline

Severity: High -- non-compliant agents may not load correctly.

Dimension 2: Size and Focus

Check: Core definition under 400 lines | Domain knowledge in Skills | Single clear responsibility | No monolithic sections (>50 lines without structure) | No redundant Claude default behaviors

Measurement: wc -l {agent-file}. Target: 200-400 lines.

Severity: High -- oversized agents suffer context rot.

Dimension 3: Divergence Quality

Does the agent specify only what diverges from Claude defaults?

Check: No file operation instructions | No generic quality principles ("be thorough") | No tool usage guidelines | Core principles are domain-specific and non-obvious | Each instruction justifies why Claude wouldn't do this naturally

Severity: Medium -- redundant instructions waste tokens, cause overtriggering.

Dimension 4: Safety Implementation

Check: Tools restricted via frontmatter tools field | maxTurns set | No prose-based security layers (use hooks) | No embedded enterprise safety frameworks | permissionMode set for risky actions

Severity: High -- prose safety is ineffective and token-wasteful.

Dimension 5: Language and Tone

Check: No "CRITICAL:", "MANDATORY:", "ABSOLUTE" language | Direct statements ("Do X" not "You MUST X") | Affirmative phrasing ("Do Y" not "Don't do X") | Consistent terminology | No repetitive emphasis

Severity: Medium -- aggressive language causes overtriggering on Opus 4.6.

Dimension 6: Examples Quality

Check: 3-5 canonical examples present | Cover critical/subtle decisions (not obvious cases) | Good/bad paired where useful | Concise (not full implementations)

Severity: Medium -- missing examples cause edge case failures.

Dimension 7: Skill Loading Effectiveness

Does the agent ensure skills are actually loaded during execution?

Check: Skill Loading Strategy table present for agents with 3+ skills | Every frontmatter skill has matching Load: directive in workflow | Skills path documented (~/.claude/skills/nw-{skill-name}/SKILL.md) | Phase-gated loading (not "load everything at start")

Severity: High — orphan skills (declared but never loaded) mean sub-agents operate without domain knowledge. The skills: frontmatter field is declarative only; Claude Code does not auto-load skill files.

Gold standard: nw-product-owner.md — Skill Loading Strategy table mapping phases to skills with triggers + explicit Load: directives in each workflow phase.

Dimension 8: Token Efficiency

Is the agent definition compressed without losing semantic content?

Check: No verbose prose where pipe-delimited lists suffice | Imperative voice throughout | No filler words ("in order to", "it is important to") | ### Example N: headers preserved verbatim (not inlined) | AskUserQuestion options preserved with numbered descriptions | Code blocks preserved verbatim | No duplicate content already in skills

Severity: Medium — bloated definitions waste context window and degrade performance via context rot.

Compression safe: prose descriptions, bullet lists, related items → pipe-delimited Compression unsafe: example headers, code blocks, decision tree options, YAML frontmatter

Dimension 9: Priority Validation

Questions: 1. Is this the largest bottleneck? (Evidence required) | 2. Simpler alternatives considered? | 3. Constraint prioritization correct? | 4. Architecture data-justified?

Severity: High if agent addresses secondary concern while larger problem exists.

Review Output Format

review:
  agent: "{agent-name}"
  dimensions:
    template_compliance: {pass|fail}
    size_and_focus: {pass|fail}
    divergence_quality: {pass|fail}
    safety_implementation: {pass|fail}
    language_and_tone: {pass|fail}
    examples_quality: {pass|fail}
    skill_loading: {pass|fail|n/a}
    token_efficiency: {pass|fail}
    priority_validation: {pass|fail}
  issues:
    - dimension: "{dimension}"
      severity: "{high|medium|low}"
      finding: "{description}"
      recommendation: "{fix}"
  verdict: "{approved|revisions_needed}"

Failure Conditions

Review blocked (verdict: revisions_needed) if: any high-severity dimension fails | 3+ medium-severity fail | Agent exceeds 400 lines without Skills extraction | Zero examples provided | Agent with 3+ skills missing Skill Loading Strategy table