lerianstudio/ring:using-dev-team

Using Ring Developer Specialists

The ring-dev-team plugin provides 9 specialized developer agents. Use them via Task tool with subagent_type:.

See CLAUDE.md and ring:using-ring for canonical workflow requirements and ORCHESTRATOR principle. This skill introduces dev-team-specific agents.

Remember: Follow the ORCHESTRATOR principle from ring:using-ring. Dispatch agents to handle complexity; don't operate tools directly.

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Blocker Criteria - STOP and Report

<block_condition>

• Technology Stack decision needed (Go vs TypeScript)
• Architecture decision needed (monolith vs microservices)
• Infrastructure decision needed (cloud provider)
• Testing strategy decision needed (unit vs E2E) </block_condition>

If any condition applies, STOP and ask user.

always pause and report blocker for:

| Decision Type | Examples | Action | | -------------------- | -------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | Technology Stack | Go vs TypeScript for new service | STOP. Check existing patterns. Ask user. | | Architecture | Monolith vs microservices | STOP. This is a business decision. Ask user. | | Infrastructure | Cloud provider choice | STOP. Check existing infrastructure. Ask user. | | Testing Strategy | Unit vs E2E vs both | STOP. Check QA requirements. Ask user. |

You CANNOT make technology decisions autonomously. STOP and ask.

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Common Misconceptions - REJECTED

See shared-patterns/shared-anti-rationalization.md for universal anti-rationalizations (including Specialist Dispatch section).

Self-sufficiency bias check: If you're tempted to implement directly, ask:

1. Is there a specialist for this? (Check the 9 specialists below)
2. Would a specialist follow standards I might miss?
3. Am I avoiding dispatch because it feels like "overhead"?

If any answer is yes → You MUST DISPATCH the specialist. This is NON-NEGOTIABLE.

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Severity Calibration

| Severity | Criteria | Examples | |----------|----------|----------| | CRITICAL | Wrong agent dispatched, security risk | Backend agent for frontend task, skipped security review | | HIGH | Missing specialist dispatch, sequential reviewers | Implemented directly without agent, reviewers run one-by-one | | MEDIUM | Suboptimal agent selection, missing context | Used general agent when specialist exists | | LOW | Documentation gaps, minor dispatch issues | Missing agent context, unclear prompt |

Report all severities. CRITICAL = immediate correction. HIGH = fix before continuing. MEDIUM = note for next dispatch. LOW = document.

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Anti-Rationalization Table

See shared-patterns/shared-anti-rationalization.md for universal anti-rationalizations (including Specialist Dispatch section and Universal section).

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Cannot Be Overridden

<cannot_skip>

• Dispatch to specialist (standards loading required)
• 10-gate development cycle (quality gates)
• Parallel reviewer dispatch (not sequential)
• TDD in Gate 0 (test-first)
• User approval in Gate 9 </cannot_skip>

These requirements are NON-NEGOTIABLE:

| Requirement | Why It Cannot Be Waived | | ------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | | Dispatch to specialist | Specialists have standards loading, you don't | | 10-gate development cycle | Gates prevent quality regressions | | Parallel reviewer dispatch | Sequential review = 3x slower, same cost | | TDD in Gate 0 | Test-first ensures testability | | User approval in Gate 9 | Only users can approve completion |

User cannot override these. Time pressure cannot override these. "Simple task" cannot override these.

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Pressure Resistance

See shared-patterns/shared-pressure-resistance.md for universal pressure scenarios (including Combined Pressure Scenarios and Emergency Response).

Critical Reminder:

• Urgency ≠ Permission to bypass - Emergencies require MORE care, not less
• Authority ≠ Permission to bypass - Ring standards override human preferences
• Sunk Cost ≠ Permission to bypass - Wrong approach stays wrong at 80% completion

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Emergency Response Protocol

See shared-patterns/shared-pressure-resistance.md → Emergency Response section for the complete protocol.

Emergency Dispatch Template:

Task tool:
  subagent_type: "ring:backend-engineer-golang"
  prompt: "URGENT PRODUCTION INCIDENT: [brief context]. [Your specific request]"

IMPORTANT: Specialist dispatch takes 5-10 minutes, not hours. This is NON-NEGOTIABLE even under CEO pressure.

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Combined Pressure Scenarios

See shared-patterns/shared-pressure-resistance.md → Combined Pressure Scenarios section.

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9 Developer Specialists

<dispatch_required agent="{specialist}"> Use Task tool to dispatch appropriate specialist based on technology need. </dispatch_required>

| Agent | Specializations | Use When | | ------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | ring:backend-engineer-golang | Go microservices, PostgreSQL/MongoDB, Kafka/RabbitMQ, OAuth2/JWT, gRPC, concurrency | Go services, DB optimization, auth/authz, concurrency issues | | ring:backend-engineer-typescript | TypeScript/Node.js, Express/Fastify/NestJS, Prisma/TypeORM, async patterns, Jest/Vitest | TS backends, JS→TS migration, NestJS design, full-stack TS | | ring:devops-engineer | Docker/Compose, Terraform/Helm, cloud infra, secrets management | Containerization, local dev setup, IaC provisioning, Helm charts | | ring:frontend-bff-engineer-typescript | Next.js API Routes BFF, Clean/Hexagonal Architecture, DDD patterns, Inversify DI, repository pattern | BFF layer, Clean Architecture, DDD domains, API orchestration | | ring:frontend-designer | Bold typography, color systems, animations, unexpected layouts, textures/gradients | Landing pages, portfolios, distinctive dashboards, design systems | | ring:ui-engineer | Wireframe-to-code, Design System compliance, UX criteria satisfaction, UI states implementation | Implementing from product-designer specs (ux-criteria.md, user-flows.md, wireframes/) | | ring:qa-analyst | Test strategy, coverage analysis, API testing, fuzz/property/integration/chaos testing (Go) | Backend test planning, coverage gaps, quality gates (Go-focused) | | ring:qa-analyst-frontend | Vitest, Testing Library, axe-core, Playwright, Lighthouse, Core Web Vitals, snapshot testing | Frontend test planning, accessibility, visual, E2E, performance testing | | ring:sre | Structured logging, tracing, health checks, observability | Logging validation, tracing setup, health endpoint verification |

Dispatch template:

Task tool:
  subagent_type: "ring:{agent-name}"
  prompt: "{Your specific request with context}"

Frontend Agent Selection:

• ring:frontend-designer = visual aesthetics, design specifications (no code)
• ring:frontend-bff-engineer-typescript = business logic/architecture, BFF layer
• ring:ui-engineer = implementing UI from product-designer specs (ux-criteria.md, user-flows.md, wireframes/)

When to use ring:ui-engineer: Use ring:ui-engineer when product-designer outputs exist in docs/pre-dev/{feature}/. The ring:ui-engineer specializes in translating design specifications into production code while ensuring all UX criteria are satisfied.

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When to Use Developer Specialists vs General Review

Use Developer Specialists for:

• ✅ Deep technical expertise needed – Architecture decisions, complex implementations
• ✅ Technology-specific guidance – "How do I optimize this Go service?"
• ✅ Specialized domains – Infrastructure, SRE, testing strategy
• ✅ Building from scratch – New service, new pipeline, new testing framework

Use General Review Agents for:

• ✅ Code quality assessment – Architecture, patterns, maintainability
• ✅ Correctness & edge cases – Business logic verification
• ✅ Security review – OWASP, auth, validation
• ✅ Post-implementation – Before merging existing code

Both can be used together: Get developer specialist guidance during design, then run general reviewers before merge.

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Dispatching Multiple Specialists

If you need multiple specialists (e.g., backend engineer + DevOps engineer), dispatch in parallel (single message, multiple Task calls):

✅ CORRECT:
Task #1: ring:backend-engineer-golang
Task #2: ring:devops-engineer
(Both run in parallel)

❌ WRONG:
Task #1: ring:backend-engineer-golang
(Wait for response)
Task #2: ring:devops-engineer
(Sequential = 2x slower)

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ORCHESTRATOR Principle

Remember:

• You're the orchestrator – Dispatch specialists, don't implement directly
• Don't read specialist docs yourself – Dispatch to specialist, they know their domain
• Combine with ring:using-ring principle – Skills + Specialists = complete workflow

Good Example (ORCHESTRATOR):

"I need a Go service. Let me dispatch ring:backend-engineer-golang to design it."

Bad Example (OPERATOR):

"I'll manually read Go best practices and design the service myself."

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Available in This Plugin

Agents: See "9 Developer Specialists" table above.

Skills: ring:using-dev-team (this), ring:dev-cycle (10-gate backend workflow), ring:dev-cycle-frontend (9-gate frontend workflow), ring:dev-refactor (backend/general codebase analysis), ring:dev-refactor-frontend (frontend codebase analysis)

Commands: /ring:dev-cycle (backend tasks), /ring:dev-cycle-frontend (frontend tasks), /ring:dev-refactor (analyze backend/general codebase), /ring:dev-refactor-frontend (analyze frontend codebase), /ring:dev-status, /ring:dev-cancel, /ring:dev-report

Note: Missing agents? Check .claude-plugin/marketplace.json for ring-dev-team plugin.

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Development Workflows

All workflows converge to the 10-gate development cycle:

| Workflow | Entry Point | Output | Then | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | | New Feature | /ring:pre-dev-feature "description" | docs/pre-dev/{feature}/tasks.md | → /ring:dev-cycle tasks.md | | Direct Tasks | /ring:dev-cycle tasks.md | — | Execute 6 gates directly | | Refactoring | /ring:dev-refactor | docs/ring:dev-refactor/{timestamp}/tasks.md | → /ring:dev-cycle tasks.md | | Frontend Refactoring | /ring:dev-refactor-frontend | docs/ring:dev-refactor-frontend/{timestamp}/tasks.md | → /ring:dev-cycle-frontend tasks.md |

10-Gate Backend Development Cycle (+ post-cycle multi-tenant):

| Gate | Focus | Agent(s) | | -------------------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 0: Implementation | TDD: RED→GREEN→REFACTOR (single-tenant) | ring:backend-engineer-*, ring:frontend-bff-engineer-typescript, ring:ui-engineer | | 1: DevOps | Dockerfile, docker-compose, .env | ring:devops-engineer | | 2: SRE | Health checks, logging, tracing | ring:sre | | 3: Unit Testing | Unit tests, coverage ≥85% | ring:qa-analyst | | 4: Fuzz Testing | Fuzz tests for edge cases | ring:qa-analyst | | 5: Property Testing | Property-based tests for invariants | ring:qa-analyst | | 6: Integration Testing | Integration tests (write per unit, execute at end) | ring:qa-analyst | | 7: Chaos Testing | Chaos tests (write per unit, execute at end) | ring:qa-analyst | | 8: Review | 7 reviewers IN PARALLEL | ring:code-reviewer, ring:business-logic-reviewer, ring:security-reviewer, ring:test-reviewer, ring:nil-safety-reviewer, ring:consequences-reviewer, ring:dead-code-reviewer | | 9: Validation | User approval: APPROVED/REJECTED | User decision | | Post-cycle: Multi-Tenant | Adapt all code for multi-tenant | ring:backend-engineer-golang (via ring:dev-multi-tenant) |

Gate 0 Agent Selection for Frontend:

• If docs/pre-dev/{feature}/ux-criteria.md exists → use ring:ui-engineer
• Otherwise → use ring:frontend-bff-engineer-typescript

Key Principle: Backend follows the 10-gate process. Frontend follows the 9-gate process.

Frontend Development Cycle (9 Gates)

Use /ring:dev-cycle-frontend for frontend-specific development:

| Gate | Focus | Agent(s) | | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------- | | 0: Implementation | TDD: RED→GREEN→REFACTOR | ring:frontend-engineer, ring:ui-engineer, ring:frontend-bff-engineer-typescript | | 1: DevOps | Dockerfile, docker-compose, .env | ring:devops-engineer | | 2: Accessibility | WCAG 2.1 AA, axe-core, keyboard nav | ring:qa-analyst-frontend | | 3: Unit Testing | Vitest + Testing Library, ≥85% | ring:qa-analyst-frontend | | 4: Visual Testing | Snapshots, states, responsive | ring:qa-analyst-frontend | | 5: E2E Testing | Playwright, cross-browser, user flows| ring:qa-analyst-frontend | | 6: Performance | Core Web Vitals, Lighthouse > 90 | ring:qa-analyst-frontend | | 7: Review | 7 reviewers IN PARALLEL | ring:code-reviewer, ring:business-logic-reviewer, ring:security-reviewer, ring:test-reviewer, ring:nil-safety-reviewer, ring:consequences-reviewer, ring:dead-code-reviewer | | 8: Validation | User approval: APPROVED/REJECTED | User decision |

Backend → Frontend Handoff: When backend dev cycle completes, it produces a handoff with endpoints, types, and contracts. The frontend dev cycle consumes this handoff to verify E2E tests exercise the correct API endpoints.

| Step | Command | Output | |------|---------|--------| | 1. Backend | /ring:dev-cycle tasks.md | Backend code + handoff (endpoints, contracts) | | 2. Frontend | /ring:dev-cycle-frontend tasks-frontend.md | Frontend code consuming backend endpoints |

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Integration with Other Plugins

• ring:using-ring (default) – ORCHESTRATOR principle for all agents
• ring:using-pm-team – Pre-dev workflow agents
• ring:using-finops-team – Financial/regulatory agents

Dispatch based on your need:

• General code review → default plugin agents
• Specific domain expertise → ring-dev-team agents
• Feature planning → ring-pm-team agents
• Regulatory compliance → ring-finops-team agents