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 using-ring for canonical workflow requirements and ORCHESTRATOR principle. This skill introduces ops-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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Domain Distinction: ops-team vs dev-team

CRITICAL: Understand when to use each plugin:

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

Scenario	Use
"Set up Dockerfile and docker-compose"	devops-engineer
"Configure service mesh for production"	platform-engineer
"Create Terraform modules"	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}"
  model: "opus"
  prompt: "{Your specific request with context}"

Note: All ops-team agents require model: "opus" for production-grade analysis.

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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: "incident-responder"
  model: "opus"
  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 -> devops-engineer
• Application code -> ring-dev-team specialists
• Code review -> ring-default reviewers