Handoff

Precondition: Handoff is only possible after $gates PASS or CONDITIONAL PASS. On FAIL — return to agent, handoff is not executed.

Related Skills

Handoff Types

Key rule for cross-session handoff: The next session starts with ZERO context. The handoff file is the sole source of information. No references to «see above» or «as discussed». Everything must be in the file.

Key rule for adversarial independence: In Full A/B when transferring the Discovery Brief to both camps — both packages are identical. Alpha and Beta do not see each other's artifacts until Mediator. Session-handoff Camp Alpha is NOT passed to Beta before MED-01.

Transfer Registry — What to Transfer

Full Pipeline A (/ship-right-thing, 6 sessions)

Full Pipeline B (/shape-prioritize, 6 sessions)

Quick Pipeline (/quick-pm, 1 session)

Spec Pipeline (/spec, 1 session)

Cross-Session Handoff (Session)

File structure docs/product/session-N-handoff.md

The file contains all necessary context. No references, no abbreviations.

# Session [N] Handoff — [Initiative Name]

## Meta
- **Project:** [Name]
- **Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
- **Session:** [N] of [M]
- **Mode:** /ship-right-thing | /shape-prioritize | /quick-pm | /spec
- **Adversarial camp** (if applicable): Alpha (Customer / Build) | Beta (Business / Cut) | —
- **Completed gates:** [list of IDs with deliverables]
- **Next gate:** [ID] [Name]

## Brief Summary
[2-3 sentences: what was done in this session, key result]

## Board State ($board)
[Full copy of the board table in its current state + progress metrics]

## Full Artifact Contents

### [Artifact 1 — e.g., Discovery Brief]
[FULL TEXT of the artifact, not a link or brief description]

### [Artifact 2 — e.g., JTBD Canvas]
[FULL TEXT of the artifact]

### [Artifact N — ...]
[FULL TEXT]

## Decisions and Context
| # | Decision | Rationale | Made by | Affects |
|---|----------|-----------|---------|---------|
| 1 | [What was decided] | [Why] | [User / Conductor] | [Which gates] |

## Open Questions and Blockers
| # | Question / Blocker | Severity | For which gate | Status |
|---|-------------------|:--------:|:--------------:|--------|
| 1 | [Description] | 🔴/🟡/🟢 | [Gate ID] | Open / Resolved |

## Camp Independence Check (Full A/B)
- [ ] This handoff does **NOT** contain artifacts from the opposing camp (if applicable)
- [ ] If handoff goes to Camp Beta — Alpha artifacts are excluded
- [ ] Mediator receives **both** session-handoffs (explicitly)

## Cumulative Index
| Session | Gates | Key Artifacts | File |
|---------|-------|---------------|------|
| 1 | COND-01, DISC-01 | Discovery Brief, JTBD canvas | session-1-handoff.md |
| 2 | STRAT-01α | Strategy Brief Alpha | session-2-handoff.md |
| [N] | [...] | [...] | session-N-handoff.md |

## Prompt for Next Session
[Generated via $session-prompt-generator — ready-to-paste prompt]

## Verification Checklist
- [ ] All artifacts included in full (not as links)
- [ ] Task board ($board) saved in current state
- [ ] Decisions and context recorded
- [ ] Open questions / blockers recorded
- [ ] Cumulative index is up to date
- [ ] Prompt for next session generated
- [ ] Camp independence check passed (Full A/B)
- [ ] File is self-contained — test: can be read without ANY prior context

Recovery Protocol (damaged / incomplete handoff)

When loading a session handoff in a new session — Conductor performs verification:

On any recovery — explicitly notify the user that the handoff was incomplete and what was restored.

Reverse Handoff

When it happens

• $gates — FAIL.
• Mediator discovered critical data discrepancies.
• User requested rework.
• Next gate discovered a problem with an artifact from the previous gate.

Reverse handoff protocol

1. State the reason for return — specific gaps / comments.
2. State exactly what to rework — not «redo it», but «verify evidence for assumption X: Discovery has 0 interviews for this segment, need 5+».
3. State what NOT to touch — what has already been approved and needs no changes.
4. Update $board — receiving gate → [↩] Returned, sending gate → [→] In Progress.
5. After rework — re-run $gates check → forward handoff.

Receive Acknowledgement

Upon receiving a handoff the receiving agent must:

1. Confirm loading: «Handoff from [ID] received, [N] artifacts loaded».
2. List received: list of artifacts with brief description.
3. Note gaps: if CONDITIONAL PASS — explicitly list received gaps.
4. Record issues: if an artifact is incomplete or unclear — request clarification before starting work (do not guess).

Acknowledge is embedded in the beginning of the next gate's work. It is not a separate step, but the first paragraph of the deliverable.

Protocol

Step 0 — Determine handoff type

1. Forward (within session), Reverse (return), Session (cross-session).
2. For Session — determine file path: docs/product/session-N-handoff.md.
3. For Full A/B — verify camp isolation (if handoff goes alpha → beta without Mediator — prohibited).

Step 1 — Preconditions

1. Confirm that $gates gave PASS or CONDITIONAL PASS (except Reverse).
2. Identify the receiving agent from the registry.
3. Collect all artifacts from the transfer registry.
4. For Full A/B — filter out artifacts from the opposing camp (if cross-camp handoff).

Step 2 — Form the envelope

1. For Forward: fill in the standard envelope template.
2. For Session: fill in the file template, include FULL artifact contents.
3. For Reverse: fill in the reverse envelope with gaps.
4. For CONDITIONAL PASS — explicitly state the gaps being transferred.

Step 3 — User sign-off

1. Show envelope to user.
2. Await explicit "Approved".
3. Do not proceed without Approved. No exceptions.

Step 4 — Save and activate

1. For Session: save file to docs/product/session-N-handoff.md.
2. Update $board: current gate → [✓] Completed, next → [→] In Progress.
3. Add entry to the transfer log.
4. For Session: call $session-prompt-generator to generate the prompt.

Example — Forward Handoff COND-03 → STRAT-02β (TeamFlow, /ship-right-thing)

Context: TeamFlow (B2B SaaS, HR-tech). Session 3: assigning Camp Beta (Business-Champion). Important: Beta receives ONLY the Discovery Brief, without Session-2 handoff (Alpha artifacts).

### Handoff Envelope — COND-03 → STRAT-02β Product Strategist (Business-Champion)

**Type:** Forward
**Mode:** /ship-right-thing (Full A)
**Session:** 3
**Camp:** Beta (Business-Champion)
**Gate Check:** PASS (camp assignment + independence verified)
**Date:** 2026-04-12

---

**Artifacts:**

1. **Discovery Brief** (from session-1-handoff.md) — FULL text:
   - ICP: mid-market HR-tech (100-500 employees)
   - Buyer: VP People/HR
   - End-user: People managers + ICs
   - JTBD canvas (buyer + end-user separate)
   - Top 3 problem statements
   - Assumption map (12 assumptions, 4 high-risk)

2. **Camp Assignment:** Business-Champion
   - You play the role of Business-Champion (β)
   - Focus: strategy around revenue, margin, strategic moat, competitive positioning
   - Do not play user-value angle (that is Alpha, working in parallel)

**Independence Check:**
- ⛔ Camp Alpha (Customer-Champion) Strategy Brief **NOT passed** — Beta works independently
- Session-2-handoff.md exists, but **explicitly excluded** from this envelope

---

**Task for STRAT-02β:**

Using **only the Discovery Brief**, form a Business-Champion Strategy Brief for the TeamFlow initiative «AI-powered 1:1 note summarization».

Include:
- Vision (business outcomes: ARR, moat, NRR angle)
- North Star Metric (business-value metric)
- OKR (quarterly)
- Product Roadmap (themes)
- Rationale: why this approach from a business perspective

**Expected deliverable:**
Strategy Brief Beta (markdown), ~800-1200 words, with an explicit business-angle argument.

**Blockers:** None

---

→ Awaiting **"Approved"** to proceed to **STRAT-02β Product Strategist (Business-Champion)**

Validation (Quality Gate)

Standard (Forward) envelope

• $gates result attached (PASS / CONDITIONAL PASS)
• Sending and receiving agents specified with gate IDs
• All artifacts from the transfer registry attached
• Task for the next agent formulated specifically
• Gaps (if CONDITIONAL) explicitly listed
• Context transferred
• For Full A/B — camp independence verified
• User Approved received
• $board updated

Cross-session (Session) envelope — additionally

• File saved at path docs/product/session-N-handoff.md
• All artifacts included as full text (not links or summaries)
• Board state saved
• Decisions and context recorded
• Open questions / blockers recorded
• Cumulative index is up to date
• Prompt for next session generated
• Camp independence check passed (Full A/B)
• File is self-contained — test: can be read without ANY prior context

Handoff

The $handoff output serves as input for: the next agent in the pipeline, $board (status updates), $session-prompt-generator (for cross-session handoffs).

Anti-patterns

Output Templates

Forward Handoff (within session)

### Handoff Envelope — [ID From] [Agent From] → [ID To] [Agent To]

**Type:** Forward
**Mode:** [/ship-right-thing | /shape-prioritize | /quick-pm | /spec]
**Session:** [N]
**Camp:** [α (Customer/Build) | β (Business/Cut) | —]
**Gate Check:** [PASS / CONDITIONAL PASS] (iteration [N])
**Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]

---

**Artifacts:**
- [Artifact 1 — description]
- [Artifact 2 — description]

**Gaps (if CONDITIONAL):**
- [Gap 1 — what to account for]

**Independence Check (Full A/B only):**
- Excluded: [artifacts from opposing camp, if applicable]

---

**Task for [Agent To]:**
[Clear specific formulation]

**Expected deliverable:**
[What the next agent must return]

**Blockers:**
[List or «None»]

---

→ Awaiting **"Approved"** to proceed to **[ID To] [Agent To]**

Reverse Handoff

### Reverse Handoff — [ID From] [Agent From] → [ID To] [Agent To] (return)

**Type:** Reverse
**Reason:** [FAIL / feedback / data discrepancies]
**Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]

---

**What to fix:**
| # | Gap / Comment | Sev | Specific action |
|---|--------------|:---:|-----------------|
| 1 | [description] | [B] | [what to do] |

**What NOT to touch:**
- [Artifact / section that has already been approved]

---

→ After rework — re-run `$gates` check (iteration [N+1])
→ Awaiting **"Approved"** for return

Receive Acknowledgement (start of recipient's work)

**Handoff received:** [ID From] → [ID To]
**Artifacts loaded:** [N] items
- [Artifact 1] — ✅ received
- [Artifact 2] — ✅ received

**Gaps accepted:** [list or «None»]
**Camp-isolation (Full A/B):** [Verified / N/A]
**Loading issues:** [list or «None»]