MANDATORY PREPARATION
Invoke /agent-workflow — it contains workflow principles, anti-patterns, and the Context Gathering Protocol. Follow the protocol before proceeding — if no workflow context exists yet, you MUST run /teach-maestro first. Consult the agent-architecture reference in the agent-workflow skill for complexity assessment and topology simplification.
Reduce complexity without reducing capability. Every component should earn its place.
Streamlining Analysis
For each component, ask:
- Does this add measurable value? If you can't name the specific value, remove it.
- Can this be combined with another component? Merge overlapping responsibilities.
- Is this solving a real problem or an imagined one? Remove speculative complexity.
- Would a simpler alternative work? Prefer simplicity over elegance.
Common Streamlining Targets
Pipeline Steps
- Remove steps that transform data without changing it meaningfully
- Combine sequential steps that could be one prompt
- Eliminate validation steps that duplicate downstream validation
Tool Consolidation
- Merge tools that operate on the same data with different filters
- Remove tools the model never selects (check usage logs)
- Combine read tools with similar signatures
Prompt Simplification
- Remove instructions the model follows by default
- Consolidate redundant constraints
- Shorten few-shot examples to minimum viable length
Configuration Reduction
- Remove config parameters that always use the default
- Hardcode values that never change between environments
- Merge related config into logical groups
Streamlining Report
For each recommendation:
- What to remove/simplify — specific component or code
- Why it's safe — what ensures functionality is preserved
- Expected impact — latency reduction, cost reduction, or maintainability improvement
Complexity Score
| Component | Current | Minimal Viable | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pipeline steps | ? | ? | Remove/merge ? |
| Tools | ? | ? | Consolidate ? |
| Config params | ? | ? | Remove ? |
| Agent count | ? | ? | Collapse ? |
Streamlining Checklist
- Each component justified with concrete value
- Redundant steps identified and marked for removal
- Tool usage logs checked for never-used tools
- Golden test set passes after each simplification
- No safety guardrails, logging, or error handling removed
Recommended Next Step
After streamlining, run /evaluate to verify functionality is preserved, then /refine for final polish.
NEVER:
- Remove error handling in the name of simplicity
- Streamline without verifying the golden test set still passes
- Remove logging or observability
- Simplify below the level of correctness
- Remove safety guardrails
