QUAD™ - Quick Unified Agentic Development (Detailed Guide)

Table of Contents

Shared vs Dedicated Resources

QUAD allows flexible resource allocation based on project needs:

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SHARED vs DEDICATED SPECTRUM
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MORE DEDICATED                              MORE SHARED

CIRCLE 1CIRCLE 2CIRCLE 3CIRCLE 4
MGMTDEVQAINFRA

Dedicated     Dedicated      Shared       Shared
per project   per project    across       across
projects     directors

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Default Allocation

Organizational Structure

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GROUP (e.g., Wealth Management)
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Director ADirector BDirector C

Project 1Project 3Project 5
Project 2Project 4Project 6

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SHARED RESOURCES
Circle 4Circle 3Enabling Teams
(Infra)(QA Pool)(Architect, etc.)
ALWAYSUSUALLYOPTIONAL
SHAREDSHARED
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QUAD Hierarchy & Rules

Rule Hierarchy

+---------------------------------------+
BASE RULES (QUAD Platform)  <-- Universal do's and don'ts
+---------------------------------------+
COMPANY-WIDE RESTRICTIONS  <-- Entity/Org level policies
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DIRECTOR RESTRICTIONS  <-- Program/Portfolio level
+---------------------------------------+
TECH LEAD RESTRICTIONS  <-- Team level
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TEAM MEMBER CUSTOMIZATION  <-- Personal preferences
+---------------------------------------+
RULE: Each level can ADD restrictions, never CONTRADICT upper levels

Example Rules

What Can Be Customized

Agent Class-Object Pattern

QUAD agents follow a class-object instantiation pattern:

How It Works

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AGENT LIFECYCLE
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CLASS (Template)                 OBJECT (Instance)
Story AgentassignSuman's Story
+ setup
- Capabilities- Connected
- Base rules- App password
- No connection- Local machine
- "Ready" state- User context

Cannot execute tasks             Can execute tasks
Just a definition                Knows who it serves

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Setup Flow

Key Points

AI Agent Pipeline

Agent Pipeline

+-----------+    +-----------+    +-------------+    +-------------+
AgentAgentAgentAgents
+-----------+    +-----------+    +-------------+    +-------------+
      
   Horizon         Code Push        DEV Ready          Tests Pass
                                                           |
                                                           v
+-------------+    +--------------+    +-------------+
AgentAgentAgent
+-------------+    +--------------+    +-------------+
      
   Production         QA Ready           PR Created

Agents by Circle

Circle 1: Management Agents

Estimation Agent Pipeline (Deep Dive)

The Estimation Agent is unique - it orchestrates multiple agents in a sequential pipeline to produce accurate, confidence-based estimates.

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ESTIMATION AGENT PIPELINE
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TRIGGER: Story marked "Ready for Estimation"


AgentAgentAgentAgent

v             v             v               v
Analyzes:     Analyzes:     Analyzes:     Aggregates:
- Files       - Tables      - Screens     - All inputs
- Components  - Migrations  - User flows  - Confidence
- Complexity  - Queries     - Integrations- Final estimate

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Each agent in the pipeline implements a standard interface:

interface EstimationContributor {
  name: string;
  analyze(story: Story, context: Context): AgentAnalysis;
  getConfidenceImpact(): number;  // -20 to +10
  isRequired(): boolean;          // Can be skipped?
}

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CONFIDENCE CALCULATION
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BASE CONFIDENCE: 90%

DEDUCTIONS (reduce confidence):
FactorDeduction
High code complexity (>50 files)-15%
Database migration required-10%
External API integration-10%
New technology/framework-15%
Cross-team dependency-10%
Unclear requirements-20%
No similar past stories-10%

ADDITIONS (boost confidence):
FactorAddition
Similar story completed before+10%
High test coverage in area+5%
Clear requirements+5%
Same developer did similar+5%

FINAL CONFIDENCE = 90% + additions - deductions
(Minimum: 30%, Maximum: 95%)

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ESTIMATION RESULT
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Story: "Add dark mode toggle to settings"
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COMPLEXITY:     Octahedron (8)
CONFIDENCE:     78%
EFFORT:         5-6 days

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BREAKDOWN BY AGENT:

Code Agent:     3 files, 2 components, medium complexity
DB Agent:       1 new column (user_preferences.theme)
Flow Agent:     2 screens affected, 1 API endpoint

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RISKS:
⚠️  CSS variable system not standardized
⚠️  No existing theme context in app

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SIMILAR PAST STORIES:
• "Add language toggle" - Cube (6) - Actual: 5 days ✅
• "Add notification preferences" - Octahedron (8) - Actual: 7d

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HUMAN OVERRIDE FLOW
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1. AI PRESENTS ESTIMATE
Complexity: Octahedron (8), Confidence: 78%

2. HUMAN REVIEWS
[Accept AI Estimate]  or  [Override]

3. IF OVERRIDE:
Human Estimate: [Cube (6) ▼]
Reason: "I've done this exact thing before, simpler"
[Submit Override]

4. STORY COMPLETION (later)
Story completed in: 5 days

5. AI LEARNING
ESTIMATION FEEDBACK
AI Estimate: 8  →  Human Override: 6  →  Actual: 5

✅ Human was closer!
📚 AI learning: Adjusting confidence for similar
stories involving "toggle" + "settings" patterns

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Circle 2: Development Agents

Circle 3: QA Agents

Circle 4: Infrastructure Agents

Flow Documentation

Flow Document Structure

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FLOW DOCUMENT TEMPLATE
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<h1 class="text-3xl font-bold text-white mb-8">FLOW: [Feature Name]</h1>
<h2 class="text-2xl font-bold text-blue-300 mt-10 mb-6">Overview</h2>
FieldValue
Flow IDFLOW_XXX_001
OwnerCircle 1 (BA/PM/TL)
Last UpdatedYYYY-MM-DD
StatusDraft / Active / Retired

<h2 class="text-2xl font-bold text-blue-300 mt-10 mb-6">Step 1: [Action Name]</h2>
<h3 class="text-xl font-bold text-white mt-8 mb-4">UI</h3>
ElementTypeValidation
Field nameTextInputRequired, format
ButtonButtonDisabled until valid
<h3 class="text-xl font-bold text-white mt-8 mb-4">Screenshot</h3>
[Include screenshot or mockup]
<h3 class="text-xl font-bold text-white mt-8 mb-4">API</h3>
    POST /api/endpoint
    Content-Type: application/json
    Request:
    {
      "field": "value"
    }
    Response (200):
    {
      "result": "data"
    }
    Response (4xx/5xx):
    {
      "error": "message",
      "code": "ERROR_CODE"
    }
<h3 class="text-xl font-bold text-white mt-8 mb-4">Database</h3>
    -- Query executed
    SELECT columns FROM table WHERE condition;
    -- Insert/Update
    INSERT INTO table (columns) VALUES (values);
<h3 class="text-xl font-bold text-white mt-8 mb-4">Test Cases</h3>
TC IDScenarioInputExpectedAPIDB Check
TC001Happy pathvalid input200Yesrow added
TC002Invalid inputbad input422Nono change

<h2 class="text-2xl font-bold text-blue-300 mt-10 mb-6">Step 2: [Next Action]</h2>
...
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QA Testing View (Auto-Generated from Flow)

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QA TESTING VIEW
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Flow: FLOW_LOGIN_001

Test Checklist (auto-generated from flow):

UI Tests:
[ ] Email field shows keyboard
[ ] Password field masks input
[ ] Login button disabled when empty
[ ] Error message displays on failure

API Tests:
[ ] POST /api/auth/login returns 200 with valid creds
[ ] Returns 401 with invalid password
[ ] Returns 422 with malformed email
[ ] Response contains token and user object

Database Tests:
[ ] users.last_login_at updated on success
[ ] device_login_history row created
[ ] login_attempts incremented on failure
[ ] No data changed on validation failure

Edge Cases:
[ ] SQL injection attempt blocked
[ ] Account lockout after 5 failures
[ ] Concurrent login from 2 devices

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One Source of Truth Architecture

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ONE SOURCE OF TRUTH
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GIT REPOSITORY
(Version Controlled)


v                 v                 v
/docs/src/tests
flows/codespecs


v
QUAD WEB APP
- Flow viewer
- API browser
- DB schema viewer
- AI chat (RAG)
- Test dashboard


v             v             v
ConfluenceJiraSwagger
(sync)(sync)(auto)

All tools sync FROM Git (single source)
Never edit in Confluence directly

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Productivity Benefits

Technical Debt Handling

QUAD handles technical debt continuously, not in batches:

Approach: Continuous + Visibility

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TECHNICAL DEBT APPROACH
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1. REFACTOR AGENT (Continuous Scanning)
- Scans for code duplication
- Identifies long methods (>50 lines)
- Flags high cyclomatic complexity
- Checks outdated dependencies
- Detects security vulnerabilities
- Finds missing tests
- Creates tickets automatically

2. BOY SCOUT RULE
"Leave code better than you found it"
- When dev touches a file, fix small issues
- Include quick improvements with feature work
- No separate "tech debt stories" for small items

3. DEBT DASHBOARD (Visibility)
- Overall debt score visible to all
- Trends: improving, stable, declining
- Alerts when score drops below threshold

4. DEBT CEILING
- If score < 60, Director is alerted
- May pause features until debt reduced

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Tech Debt Dashboard

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TECH DEBT DASHBOARD
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Overall Debt Score: 72/100 (Healthy)
████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░

By Category:
CategoryScoreTrend
Code Quality85/100^ Improving
Test Coverage70/100- Stable
Dependencies60/100v Declining
Documentation75/100^ Improving

Action Items: 3 Critical items need attention

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Enabling Teams

Enabling Teams are optional support groups that are NOT counted as QUAD circles:

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ENABLING TEAMS
(Optional)
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ArchitectSecurityCompliance
GroupTeamTeam
- Solution- Vuln scans- HIPAA check
- Domain- Pen testing- SOC2 audit
- Database- Code review- GDPR review
- Cloud

v                  v                   v
Design AgentSecurityCompliance
ScannerChecker

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QUAD = 4 Circles + AI Core + Optional Enabling Teams

Team Setup & Project Lifecycle

Team Setup Checklist

Project Lifecycle (12-Month Example)

Related Documentation