Rule
Give each agent one bounded job and a fresh context window.
This is about one agent over time: a fresh window for each phase of work, so research context doesn't bleed into implementation. Keeping concurrent workers from contaminating each other is a separate concern — that's Factor VI.
What AgentOps Enforces
- Split research, implementation, review, and release work when their context needs differ.
- End the session when the job is complete.
- Start a new session for a new phase instead of appending work to a saturated thread.
- Scope each assignment tightly enough that completion is obvious.
Failure Signal
- A research-heavy session starts editing code from stale assumptions.
- The agent keeps mixing old requirements with new ones.
- The task cannot be summarized in one sentence.
- The session is kept alive because "it already knows the project."
Done Looks Like
The agent has one job, one owner, one workspace, and a clear stopping condition.