Using Ring Developer Specialists

The ring-dev-team plugin provides 7 specialized developer agents. Use them via Task tool with subagent_type:.

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

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

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Blocker Criteria - STOP and Report

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 7 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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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

These requirements are NON-NEGOTIABLE:

Requirement	Why It Cannot Be Waived
Dispatch to specialist	Specialists have standards loading, you don't
6-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 5	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: "backend-engineer-golang"
  model: "opus"
  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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7 Developer Specialists

Agent	Specializations	Use When
backend-engineer-golang	Go microservices, PostgreSQL/MongoDB, Kafka/RabbitMQ, OAuth2/JWT, gRPC, concurrency	Go services, DB optimization, auth/authz, concurrency issues
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
devops-engineer	Docker/Compose, Terraform/Helm, cloud infra, secrets management	Containerization, local dev setup, IaC provisioning, Helm charts
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
frontend-designer	Bold typography, color systems, animations, unexpected layouts, textures/gradients	Landing pages, portfolios, distinctive dashboards, design systems
qa-analyst	Test strategy, Cypress/Playwright E2E, coverage analysis, API testing, performance	Test planning, E2E suites, coverage gaps, quality gates
sre	Structured logging, tracing, health checks, observability	Logging validation, tracing setup, health endpoint verification

Dispatch template:

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

Note: frontend-designer = visual aesthetics. frontend-bff-engineer-typescript = business logic/architecture.

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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: backend-engineer-golang
Task #2: devops-engineer
(Both run in parallel)

❌ WRONG:
Task #1: backend-engineer-golang
(Wait for response)
Task #2: 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 using-ring principle – Skills + Specialists = complete workflow

Good Example (ORCHESTRATOR):

"I need a Go service. Let me dispatch 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 "7 Developer Specialists" table above.

Skills: using-dev-team (this), dev-cycle (6-gate workflow), dev-refactor (codebase analysis)

Commands: /dev-cycle (execute tasks), /dev-refactor (analyze codebase)

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

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Development Workflows

All workflows converge to the 6-gate development cycle:

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

6-Gate Development Cycle:

Gate	Focus	Agent(s)
0: Implementation	TDD: RED→GREEN→REFACTOR	backend-engineer-*, frontend-bff-engineer-typescript
1: DevOps	Dockerfile, docker-compose, .env	devops-engineer
2: SRE	Health checks, logging, tracing	sre
3: Testing	Unit tests, coverage ≥85%	qa-analyst
4: Review	3 reviewers IN PARALLEL	code-reviewer, business-logic, security
5: Validation	User approval: APPROVED/REJECTED	User decision

Key Principle: All development follows the same 6-gate process.

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Integration with Other Plugins

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

Dispatch based on your need:

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