lerianstudio/using-ops-team

Using Ring Operations Specialists

The ring-ops-team plugin provides 5 specialized operations 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 ops-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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Domain Distinction: ops-team vs dev-team

CRITICAL: Understand when to use each plugin:

| Domain | Plugin | Agents | |--------|--------|--------| | Development Infrastructure | ring-dev-team | ring:devops-engineer (Docker, IaC, CI/CD) | | Production Operations | ring-ops-team | platform-engineer, incident-responder, etc. |

| Scenario | Use | |----------|-----| | "Set up Dockerfile and docker-compose" | ring:devops-engineer | | "Configure service mesh for production" | platform-engineer | | "Create Terraform modules" | ring:devops-engineer | | "Design multi-region architecture" | infrastructure-architect | | "Handle production outage" | incident-responder | | "Optimize cloud costs" | cloud-cost-optimizer |

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Blocker Criteria - STOP and Report

ALWAYS pause and report blocker for:

| Decision Type | Examples | Action | |--------------|----------|--------| | Production Changes | Infrastructure modifications | STOP. Change management required. Ask user. | | Security Incidents | Potential breach | STOP. Security team lead + legal. | | Cost Commitments | Reserved instance purchases | STOP. Finance approval required. | | Architecture Decisions | Region selection, DR strategy | STOP. Strategic decision. Ask user. |

You CANNOT make production-impacting decisions autonomously. STOP and ask.

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Common Misconceptions - REJECTED

| Misconception | Reality | |--------------|---------| | "I can handle this myself" | ORCHESTRATOR principle: dispatch specialists, don't implement directly. This is NON-NEGOTIABLE. | | "Ops tasks are simple" | Operations has production impact. Specialist oversight is MANDATORY. | | "Same as DevOps" | dev-team DevOps handles development infrastructure. ops-team handles production operations. | | "Cost analysis is just math" | Cost optimization requires business context and risk assessment. DISPATCH specialist. | | "Security is handled by dev reviewers" | Security-reviewer handles code. security-operations handles infrastructure security. BOTH needed. |

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

1. Is there a specialist for this? (Check the 5 specialists below)
2. Does this affect production systems?
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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Anti-Rationalization Table

If you catch yourself thinking ANY of these, STOP:

| Rationalization | Why It's WRONG | Required Action | |-----------------|----------------|-----------------| | "This is a small operations task" | Small tasks can cause big outages | DISPATCH specialist | | "I already know how to do this" | Your knowledge != production context | DISPATCH specialist | | "Just checking logs/metrics" | Log analysis requires domain expertise | DISPATCH specialist | | "Cost report is straightforward" | Cost optimization needs risk assessment | DISPATCH specialist | | "Security scan results are clear" | Findings need prioritization and context | DISPATCH specialist | | "Incident seems minor" | Minor incidents can escalate. Proper triage required. | DISPATCH incident-responder |

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Cannot Be Overridden

These requirements are NON-NEGOTIABLE:

| Requirement | Why It Cannot Be Waived | |-------------|------------------------| | Dispatch to specialist | Specialists have production context | | Incident documentation | Memory fades, audit trails required | | Change management | Production changes need oversight | | Security escalation | Security incidents have legal implications | | Cost approval chain | Financial commitments need authorization |

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

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Pressure Resistance

When facing pressure to bypass specialist dispatch:

| User Says | Your Response | |-----------|---------------| | "Production is down, no time for specialist" | "I understand the urgency. Specialist dispatch ensures proper incident response. Dispatching incident-responder with URGENT context now." | | "Just restart the service quickly" | "Production restarts require change management. Dispatching incident-responder to assess proper remediation." | | "Cost analysis can wait" | "Cost optimization opportunities have time-value. Dispatching cloud-cost-optimizer for data-driven analysis." | | "Security finding is false positive" | "All security findings require verified documentation. Dispatching security-operations to properly assess." | | "I know the architecture, skip review" | "Architecture decisions have long-term impact. Dispatching infrastructure-architect to validate." |

Critical Reminder:

• Urgency != Permission to bypass - Emergencies require MORE care, not less
• Authority != Permission to bypass - Ring standards override human preferences
• Familiarity != Permission to bypass - Production context differs from assumptions

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5 Operations Specialists

| Agent | Specializations | Use When | |-------|-----------------|----------| | platform-engineer | Service mesh, API gateways, developer platforms, self-service infrastructure | Service mesh config, API gateway setup, platform abstractions, developer portals | | incident-responder | Incident management, RCA, post-mortems, blameless culture | Production incidents, outages, incident coordination, root cause analysis | | cloud-cost-optimizer | Cost analysis, RI management, FinOps, tagging | Cost reviews, optimization recommendations, reserved instance planning | | infrastructure-architect | Multi-region, DR, capacity planning, migrations | Architecture design, DR strategy, capacity planning, infrastructure lifecycle | | security-operations | Security audits, compliance, vulnerability management | Security assessments, compliance validation, vulnerability remediation |

Dispatch template:

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

Note: Dispatch ops-team agents via Task(subagent_type: "ring:{agent-name}").

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When to Use Operations Specialists vs Other Teams

Use Operations Specialists for:

• Production infrastructure management
• Incident response and coordination
• Cloud cost optimization
• Infrastructure architecture design
• Security operations and compliance

Use Development Team (ring-dev-team) for:

• Application development
• Development infrastructure (Docker, IaC)
• CI/CD pipeline development
• Application testing
• Observability implementation

Use Default Reviewers (ring-default) for:

• Code quality review
• Business logic review
• Security code review (application-level)

Teams complement each other: Operations handles production, Development handles code, Reviewers handle quality.

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Dispatching Multiple Specialists

If you need multiple specialists (e.g., incident + security), dispatch in parallel:

CORRECT:
Task #1: incident-responder
Task #2: security-operations
(Both run in parallel)

WRONG:
Task #1: incident-responder
(Wait for response)
Task #2: security-operations
(Sequential = 2x slower)

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Emergency Response Protocol

Production incidents DO NOT bypass specialist dispatch:

| Scenario | Wrong Approach | Correct Approach | |----------|----------------|------------------| | Production down | "Fix directly, document later" | Dispatch incident-responder with URGENT flag | | Security alert | "I'll check the logs" | Dispatch security-operations for proper assessment | | Cost anomaly | "Probably normal spike" | Dispatch cloud-cost-optimizer to investigate |

Emergency Dispatch Template:

Task tool:
  subagent_type: "ring:incident-responder"
  prompt: "URGENT PRODUCTION INCIDENT: [brief context]. [Your specific request]"

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Available in This Plugin

Agents: See "5 Operations Specialists" table above.

Skills:

• using-ops-team (this) - Plugin introduction
• ops-incident-response - Incident management workflow
• ops-capacity-planning - Capacity planning process
• ops-cost-optimization - Cost optimization workflow
• ops-disaster-recovery - DR planning and testing
• ops-security-audit - Security audit workflow
• ops-platform-onboarding - Service onboarding to platform
• ops-migration-planning - Migration planning process

Commands:

• /incident - Production incident management
• /capacity-review - Infrastructure capacity review
• /cost-analysis - Cloud cost analysis
• /security-audit - Security audit workflow

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Integration with Other Plugins

• ring-default - ORCHESTRATOR principle, code reviewers
• ring-dev-team - Development infrastructure, application code
• ring-finops-team - Financial/regulatory compliance
• ring-pm-team - Product planning, pre-dev workflows

Dispatch based on your need:

• Production operations -> ring-ops-team agents
• Development infrastructure -> ring:devops-engineer
• Application code -> ring-dev-team specialists
• Code review -> ring-default reviewers