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RHYTHM Method Workflows

Version: 1.0.0
Last Updated: 2025-11-22
Status: Initial Draft - For Review

Overview

RHYTHM Method workflows are designed for agents with human integration. Workflows leverage agent capabilities (speed, precision, automation) while maintaining essential human oversight and strategic control.

Core Workflows

The following diagram illustrates how RHYTHM Method workflows connect and flow together:

graph TB
    subgraph OneTime["**One-Time Setup**"]
        direction LR
        A[1. Project Initialization]
    end

    subgraph Planning["**Planning & Preparation Cycle**"]
        direction LR
        B[2. Feature Specification]
        C[3. Work Unit Creation]
        D[4. Work Unit Review]
        E[5. Work Unit Breakdown]
    end

    subgraph Execution["**Execution Cycle**"]
        direction LR
        F[6. Work Queue]
        F1[Task Execution]
        G[7. Continuous Planning]
        H[8. Dependency Management]
        I[9. Quality Assurance]
        J[10. Cycle Review]
    end

    A -.->|one-time| B
    B --> C
    C --> D
    D --> E
    E --> F
    E -.->|new features| B

    F --> F1
    F1 --> I
    I --> J
    F1 -.->|triggers| G
    F1 -.->|triggers| H

    G -.->|informs| F
    H -.->|informs| F
    I -.->|validates| F1
    J -.->|improves| F1
    J -.->|informs| G

    style A fill:#d4edda,stroke:#28a745,stroke-width:2px
    style F fill:#fff3cd,stroke:#ffc107,stroke-width:3px
    style F1 fill:#fff3cd,stroke:#ffc107,stroke-width:2px
    style G fill:#e7f3ff,stroke:#007bff
    style H fill:#e7f3ff,stroke:#007bff
    style I fill:#e7f3ff,stroke:#007bff
    style J fill:#e7f3ff,stroke:#007bff
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Note: Project Initialization (step 1) is a one-time setup that occurs only once at the beginning of a project. All other workflows are ongoing and repeat as needed throughout the project lifecycle.

1. Project Initialization

Purpose: Establish the foundation for RHYTHM Method in a project.

Process:

  1. Create Project Manifest

    • Single source of truth for project requirements
    • Project information repository
    • Decision log for architectural decisions and requirement changes
    • Human validation required

  2. Configure RHYTHM Settings

    • TEMPO settings (High, Moderate, Controlled)
    • HITL gate configuration
    • Agent capacity and specialization
    • Quality gate thresholds

    Note: Additional RHYTHM Method configurations will be documented as we work through the actual process implementation.

  3. Initialize Work Queue

    • Set up dependency tracking
    • Configure prioritization rules
    • Establish validation criteria

Human Involvement:

  • Validate Project Manifest
  • Approve RHYTHM configuration
  • Provide strategic guidance

Agent Involvement:

2. Feature Specification

Purpose: Create detailed specifications for features before implementation.

Process:

  1. Feature Definition

    • Business value and objectives
    • User requirements and validation criteria
    • Technical constraints and interfaces
    • Human validation required

  2. Dependency Analysis

    • Automated dependency detection
    • Dependency graph updates
    • Impact analysis
    • Human review of critical dependencies

  3. Specification Creation

    • Detailed, structured specification document
    • Machine-readable format (YAML/JSON)
    • Validation criteria definition
    • Human approval required

Human Involvement:

  • Define business requirements
  • Validate specifications
  • Approve feature scope
  • Review critical dependencies

Agent Involvement:

  • Analyze requirements
  • Detect dependencies automatically
  • Generate specification documents
  • Validate specification completeness

3. Work Unit Creation

Purpose: Break down features into executable work units.

Process:

  1. Feature Breakdown

  2. Work Unit Specification

  3. Work Unit Assignment

Human Involvement:

  • Validate work unit breakdown
  • Approve work unit priorities
  • Review agent assignments

Agent Involvement:

4. Work Unit Review

Purpose: Review and refine Features and Work Units created by Users and the RHYTHM Agent, providing feedback, challenges, and acceptance before proceeding to breakdown.

Process:

  1. Work Unit Review

    • Agents review Feature and Work Unit specifications
    • Provide feedback on clarity, completeness, and feasibility
    • Challenge assumptions and identify potential issues
    • Suggest improvements or clarifications
    • Human review of agent feedback

  2. Review Resolution

    • Address agent feedback and challenges
    • Update specifications based on review
    • Resolve conflicts or ambiguities
    • Human approval of resolved items

  3. Review Acceptance

    • Final validation of reviewed items
    • Approval from all stakeholders
    • Mark items as ready for breakdown
    • Human sign-off required

Human Involvement:

  • Review agent feedback and challenges
  • Resolve conflicts and ambiguities
  • Approve updated specifications
  • Provide final sign-off for reviewed items

Agent Involvement:

  • Review Feature and Work Unit specifications
  • Provide feedback and challenges
  • Identify potential issues or improvements
  • Validate specification completeness

Note: This workflow is similar to backlog refinement in traditional methodologies, but adapted for agentic review and human validation.

5. Work Unit Breakdown

Purpose: Break down approved Work Units into executable Agent Tasks after Work Unit Review is complete.

Process:

  1. Task Identification

    • Analyze approved Work Unit specification
    • Identify required Agent Tasks
    • Determine task dependencies
    • Estimate task complexity and token requirements
    • Human validation of task breakdown

  2. Task Specification

    • Create detailed Agent Task specifications
    • Define task acceptance criteria
    • Assign tasks to specialized agents
    • Set task priorities within Work Unit
    • Human approval of task assignments

  3. Task Readiness

    • Validate all tasks are properly specified
    • Ensure dependencies are identified
    • Confirm agent assignments are appropriate
    • Mark tasks as ready for execution
    • Human approval for task readiness

Human Involvement:

  • Validate task breakdown
  • Approve task specifications
  • Review and approve agent assignments
  • Provide final approval for task readiness

Agent Involvement:

  • Analyze Work Unit specifications
  • Create Agent Task breakdown
  • Identify task dependencies
  • Estimate token requirements
  • Assign tasks to appropriate specialized agents

6. Work Queue

Purpose: Maintain a prioritized queue of ready Agent Tasks waiting for execution.

Process:

  1. Queue Management

  2. Task Readiness Validation

    • Verify all dependencies are resolved
    • Confirm task specifications are complete
    • Check agent capacity availability
    • Human approval for high-priority items

  3. Queue Updates

Human Involvement:

  • Review queue priorities
  • Approve high-priority task execution
  • Override prioritization when needed
  • Strategic queue management

Agent Involvement:

  • Automatically maintain queue order
  • Update priorities based on dependency changes
  • Real-time queue status reporting
  • Capacity-aware queue management

Task Execution

Purpose: Execute Agent Tasks pulled from the Work Queue, performing the actual development work in focused execution cycles (2-8 hours).

Process:

  1. Task Pulling

  2. Parallel Task Execution

    • Specialized agents execute assigned tasks
    • Parallel execution across multiple agents
    • Real-time status updates
    • Automated dependency resolution during execution

  3. Execution Monitoring

    • Real-time progress tracking
    • Automated status reporting
    • Blocked task detection
    • Human visibility through dashboards

Human Involvement:

  • Approve execution cycle scope
  • Monitor execution progress
  • Resolve blockers when needed
  • Strategic guidance

Agent Involvement:

  • Execute tasks at fast TEMPO
  • Coordinate multi-agent work
  • Automated task execution
  • Real-time status reporting

Note: Task Execution is part of the Execution Cycle workflow. After tasks are executed, they flow through Quality Assurance for validation and Cycle Review for process improvement. Task Execution also triggers Continuous Planning and Dependency Management to keep the system synchronized.

7. Continuous Planning

Purpose: Maintain up-to-date plans based on real-time information.

Process:

  1. Real-Time Plan Updates

    • Automatic plan updates as work progresses
    • Dependency graph changes
    • Priority adjustments
    • Capacity reallocation

  2. Dynamic Replanning

    • Instant replanning when priorities change
    • Dependency resolution updates
    • Work queue reordering
    • Human notification of major changes

  3. Capacity Planning

    • Token-based capacity calculation
    • Agent throughput rate analysis
    • Work queue prioritization
    • Human review of capacity plans

Human Involvement:

  • Review major plan changes
  • Approve priority adjustments
  • Strategic guidance

Agent Involvement:

  • Automated plan updates
  • Dependency analysis
  • Capacity calculations
  • Real-time replanning

8. Dependency Management

Purpose: Manage dependencies automatically with human oversight.

Process:

  1. Dependency Detection

    • Automated dependency analysis
    • Technical, data, integration, knowledge dependencies
    • Dependency graph maintenance
    • Human review of critical dependencies

  2. Dependency Resolution

  3. Dependency Tracking

    • Real-time dependency graph
    • Critical path identification
    • Blocked work detection
    • Human visibility and alerts

Human Involvement:

  • Review critical dependencies
  • Approve dependency overrides
  • Strategic dependency decisions

Agent Involvement:

9. Quality Assurance

Purpose: Ensure quality through automated gates and HITL checkpoints.

Process:

  1. Automated Quality Gates

    • Code quality checks
    • Automated testing
    • Performance validation
    • Security scanning

  2. HITL Checkpoints

    • Human review at critical milestones
    • Specification validation
    • Deployment approval
    • Strategic decision points

  3. Continuous Validation

    • Real-time quality monitoring
    • Automated test execution
    • Validation against specifications
    • Quality metrics tracking

Human Involvement:

  • Review quality gate results
  • Approve deployments
  • Strategic quality decisions

Agent Involvement:

  • Automated quality checks
  • Test execution
  • Quality metrics collection
  • Real-time reporting

10. Cycle Review

Purpose: Analyze execution cycles and improve the process.

Process:

  1. Automated Analysis

  2. Process Improvement

    • Identify improvement opportunities
    • Suggest workflow optimizations
    • Update estimation models
    • Refine quality gates

  3. Learning Integration

    • Update methodology based on learnings
    • Improve agent coordination
    • Optimize HITL checkpoints
    • Enhance dependency management

Human Involvement:

  • Review cycle analysis
  • Approve process improvements
  • Strategic methodology decisions

Agent Involvement:

  • Automated cycle analysis
  • Process improvement suggestions
  • Methodology refinement
  • Learning integration

Note: Workflows embody the six core principles of RHYTHM Method (TEMPO, Flow, Control, Coordination, Precision, Adaptive). See 2. Principles for detailed explanations of these principles.

Workflow Integration

Workflows Work Together

RHYTHM Method workflows are integrated:

Continuous Improvement

Workflows improve over time:

  • Cycle Review analyzes workflow effectiveness
  • Process improvements are integrated automatically
  • Methodology evolves based on learnings
  • Human feedback enhances workflows

Summary

RHYTHM Method workflows are designed for agents with human integration, enabling agents to operate at their full potential (fast TEMPO) while ensuring humans maintain strategic control and oversight (RHYTHM). The core workflows include one-time setup (Project Initialization), planning and preparation cycles (Feature Specification, Work Unit Creation, Work Unit Review, Work Unit Breakdown), and execution cycles (Work Queue, Task Execution, Continuous Planning, Dependency Management, Quality Assurance, Cycle Review). These workflows work together in an integrated system that supports continuous execution, dependency-driven prioritization, and human-in-the-loop checkpoints.

Navigation

Previous: 3. TEMPO - Understanding TEMPO: the speed/pace at which agents operate

Change History

Version Date Author Description
1.0.0 2025-11-22 Initial Initial RHYTHM workflows docs