matt-retro
Before using this method, read the knowledge and team rules: project knowledge comes from team-knowledge (tw brief).
Suggest improvements to the coding agent's environment from the session the user identifies; default to the current session. Focus on the environment goal already in the task.
Inspect the session
Read the available primary evidence for that session and the relevant environment files. Distinguish observed problems from hypotheses and unavailable history; a missing transcript does not prove a step was skipped.
Look for improvements supported by that evidence:
- Navigation: repeated searches, hidden dependencies or missing pointers that made the right information hard to find.
- Automated checks: mistakes a deterministic check could catch. Inspect existing commands, hooks and CI first; identify broken or unwired checks before proposing another one. Missing checks can be a finding when tied to the project's work.
- Instructions: conflicting, redundant or ineffective steering in agent instructions and skills. When proposing new instructions, consult the bundled
matt-writing-for-agentsmethod. - Tool economy: expensive or repetitive calls that could be reduced without losing needed information.
- Information access: missing logs, documentation or permitted read access that prevented sound decisions.
Present improvements
Rank findings by their effect on future work. For each, identify the observed problem, its evidence, the proposed environment change and how to check that the change helps. Say when no supported improvement was found.