Matt Pocock on AI Agent Workflows and Custom Skills

X postMatt PocockOpinion

Responding to common pitfalls in agent-driven software development, Matt Pocock outlines a structured workflow utilizing specialized commands such as /wayfinder, /to-spec, and /implement-spec.

Key points

  1. Pocock suggests using the /wayfinder skill to tackle agent-based planning and research issues.
  2. He defends deterministic guardrails and recommends creating functional skills via /retro and /writing-for-agents.
  3. Prototypes are considered effective tools, particularly to aid upfront research.
  4. To prepare and execute implementation, Pocock recommends chaining /grill-with-docs into /to-spec, followed by /to-tickets and /implement-spec.

Why it matters

Uncontrolled agent autonomy often leads to low-quality code or excessive micromanagement. Pocock advocates for structured, step-by-step skill pipelines to keep LLM agents grounded throughout the development lifecycle.

Analysis

The exchange highlights the tension between fully automated software factories and hands-on developer control. Pocock responds to user frustrations by advocating for deliberate, prompt-based checkpoints that break broad features down into research, specifications, and tickets before execution.

Original post

Matt Pocock

@mattpocockuk · 11 September 2026

@maxedapps 1. /wayfinder 2. Agree 3. Agree, but deterministic guardrails are good and you can design skills that work too via /retro and /writing-for-agents 4. Prototypes are excellent actually, and can help with researching for 1 For the others, /to-spec + /to-tickets + /implement-spec

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More posts in the thread (1)
  1. @culer_1997 @maxedapps /grill-with-docs, then /to-spec
Selected replies (5)
  • @maxedapps None of thise works (for me): - research and plan a huge feature or entire service and let a fleet of agents implement it (agents get lost in slop) - hold agents by the hand and micromanage them (too slow, inefficient) - drown agents in rules and guardrails (effectively the
  • @realmaxtsh @maxedapps Same here
  • @culer_1997 @mattpocockuk @maxedapps but in order to use /to-spec don't you need thorough discussion/explanation? (like at which point you use /to-spec)
  • @mrniach @maxedapps letting fable design a very large feature and having it file issues in your tracker is my way keep things organized. those issues can then be handled in each their own session or in batches, whatever is matching the issue sizes. also gives your agent a history of what was being
  • @offerexpired @mrniach @maxedapps Why do you need another application to write the issues? What value does that bring versus just organizing your tasks inside your same project repository?

Mentioned links

Summary generated by AI (Gemini 3.8 Flash, 27 September 2026). It may contain errors – the original source is authoritative.

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