SUBPROBLEM SOLUTIONS (from Conquer phase)
    │
    ├─ Solution A (Backend)
    ├─ Solution B (Frontend)
    └─ Solution C (DevOps)
    │
    │ Merge: Integrate, resolve conflicts, validate
    ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│     MERGING PROCESS                               │
│                                                   │
│  1. Collect all solutions                        │
│  2. Check interfaces & compatibility             │
│  3. Resolve conflicts (if any)                   │
│  4. Integrate components                          │
│  5. Consistency verification                      │
│  6. Final validation                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
    │
    ▼
FINAL INTEGRATED SOLUTION ✓

Common Merge Challenges

Challenge	Solution
Interface mismatch	Validate API contracts, generate adapters
Data format conflict	Transform data to common format
Naming collision	Rename or namespace
Dependency conflict	Resolve version, use compatible versions
State inconsistency	Synchronize state, use transactions

Handoff Chain

Solution Collector ━━(handoff)━━► Interface Validator ━━(handoff)━━► Conflict Resolver ━━(handoff)━━► Integrator ━━(handoff)━━► Final Verifier
     │                            │                         │                     │                   │
  ├─ Gather all           ├─ Check APIs        ├─ Resolve issues      ├─ Put together   ├─ Test everything
  └─ Index solutions      └─ Compatibility     └─ Document fixes      └─ Connect parts   └─ Confirm works

Phase 1: Solution Collection

purpose: "Gather all subproblem solutions"
state: collecting
inputs:
  - solution_a: {...}
  - solution_b: {...}
  - solution_c: {...}

output: SolutionCollection
  metadata:
    count: 3
    sources: [backend, frontend, devops]

Phase 2: Interface Validation

purpose: "Check interfaces & compatibility"
state: validating_interfaces
checks:
  - "API endpoints match"
  - "Data schemas compatible"
  - "Protocol versions match"
  - "Dependency versions compatible"

if issues:
  handoff_to: "Conflict Resolver"
  handoff_payload: {interface_issues: [...]}
else:
  handoff_to: "Integrator"

Phase 3: Conflict Resolution

purpose: "Resolve any conflicts"
state: resolving_conflicts
strategies:
  - auto_resolve: "Automatic if safe"
  - ask_user: "Ask user for ambiguous cases"
  - transform: "Transform data/format"
  - adapt: "Generate adapter layer"

output: ResolvedConflicts
  - conflict_1: {resolved: true, method: "transform"}
  - conflict_2: {resolved: true, method: "adapter"}

Phase 4: Integration

purpose: "Integrate all components"
state: integrating
steps:
  - Connect frontend → backend API
  - Connect backend → database
  - Setup CI/CD pipeline
  - Configure monitoring
  - Wire all together

output: IntegratedSystem

Phase 5: Consistency & Final Verification

purpose: "Verify everything works"
state: verifying
quality_gate:
  checks:
    - "All components connected"
    - "No conflicts remaining"
    - "End-to-end tests pass"
    - "Performance acceptable"

on_failure: "debug_and_fix"

output: FinalVerifiedSolution

Example: Full Stack Merge

SUBPROBLEM SOLUTIONS:
  Solution 1: Backend (Go API)
    - POST /api/todos
    - GET /api/todos
    - PostgreSQL DB
  
  Solution 2: Frontend (Vue3)
    - TodoList.vue
    - ApiClient.js (calls /api/todos)
  
  Solution 3: DevOps
    - Dockerfile
    - docker-compose.yml
    - GitHub Actions

PHASE 1: Collect ✓

PHASE 2: Validate Interfaces
  Check: Frontend ApiClient calls /api/todos
  Check: Backend has /api/todos
  ✓ Compatible!

PHASE 3: Resolve Conflicts
  None found ✓

PHASE 4: Integrate
  - Frontend container → Backend container
  - Backend container → PostgreSQL container
  - Docker Compose connects all
  - GitHub Actions deploys

PHASE 5: Verify
  - E2E test: Create todo → appears in list
  - All tests pass ✓
  - Performance: <500ms ✓

RESULT: Integrated full stack app!

Related Skills

aggregation-processor - Result aggregation
problem-decomposer - Problem decomposition (paired with this)
code-review - Code review

solution-merger

Solution Merger - Tier 2

What is Solution Merging?