Agent Performance Optimization Workflow

Systematic improvement of existing agents through performance analysis, prompt engineering, and continuous iteration.

[Extended thinking: Agent optimization requires a data-driven approach combining performance metrics, user feedback analysis, and advanced prompt engineering techniques. Success depends on systematic evaluation, targeted improvements, and rigorous testing with rollback capabilities for production safety.]

Use this skill when

• Improving an existing agent's performance or reliability
• Analyzing failure modes, prompt quality, or tool usage
• Running structured A/B tests or evaluation suites
• Designing iterative optimization workflows for agents

Do not use this skill when

• You are building a brand-new agent from scratch
• There are no metrics, feedback, or test cases available
• The task is unrelated to agent performance or prompt quality

Instructions

1. Establish baseline metrics and collect representative examples.
2. Identify failure modes and prioritize high-impact fixes.
3. Apply prompt and workflow improvements with measurable goals.
4. Validate with tests and roll out changes in controlled stages.

Execution boundaries

Do not run hosted evaluations, delegate, message teams, configure recurring reports or deploy merely because a phase names them. Follow the user's existing authorization and actual host workflow. Keep traces private/redacted, cap cost and steps, isolate candidate changes, and require supported exact-version checks. parallel-test-runner and named agent roles are not bundled; use a real harness or report the gap.

Safety

• Avoid deploying prompt changes without regression testing.
• Roll back quickly if quality or safety metrics regress.

Phase 1: Performance Analysis and Baseline Metrics

Analyze supplied traces and available metrics. Named roles below are optional roles, not installed executables or permission to delegate.

1.1 Gather Performance Data

Use: context-manager
Task: analyze the authorized trace window using actual available tools
No analyze-agent-performance command is bundled.

Collect metrics including:

• Task completion rate (successful vs failed tasks)
• Response accuracy and factual correctness
• Tool usage efficiency (correct tools, call frequency)
• Average response time and token consumption
• User satisfaction indicators (corrections, retries)
• Hallucination incidents and error patterns

1.2 User Feedback Pattern Analysis

Identify recurring patterns in user interactions:

• Correction patterns: Where users consistently modify outputs
• Clarification requests: Common areas of ambiguity
• Task abandonment: Points where users give up
• Follow-up questions: Indicators of incomplete responses
• Positive feedback: Successful patterns to preserve

1.3 Failure Mode Classification

Categorize failures by root cause:

• Instruction misunderstanding: Role or task confusion
• Output format errors: Structure or formatting issues
• Context loss: Long conversation degradation
• Tool misuse: Incorrect or inefficient tool selection
• Constraint violations: Safety or business rule breaches
• Edge case handling: Unusual input scenarios

1.4 Baseline Performance Report

Generate quantitative baseline metrics:

Performance Baseline:
- Task Success Rate: [X%]
- Average Corrections per Task: [Y]
- Tool Call Efficiency: [Z%]
- User Satisfaction Score: [1-10]
- Average Response Latency: [Xms]
- Token Efficiency Ratio: [X:Y]

Phase 2: Prompt Engineering Improvements

Apply advanced prompt optimization techniques using prompt-engineer agent.

2.1 Chain-of-Thought Enhancement

Implement structured reasoning patterns:

Use: prompt-engineer
Technique: chain-of-thought-optimization

• Add explicit reasoning steps: "Let's approach this step-by-step..."
• Include self-verification checkpoints: "Before proceeding, verify that..."
• Implement recursive decomposition for complex tasks
• Collect concise decision explanations and observable tool traces, not hidden chain-of-thought

2.2 Few-Shot Example Optimization

Curate high-quality examples from successful interactions:

• Select diverse examples covering common use cases
• Include edge cases that previously failed
• Show both positive and negative examples with explanations
• Order examples from simple to complex
• Annotate examples with key decision points

Example structure:

Good Example:
Input: [User request]
Evidence: [Concise rationale and observable checks]
Output: [Successful response]
Why this works: [Key success factors]

Bad Example:
Input: [Similar request]
Output: [Failed response]
Why this fails: [Specific issues]
Correct approach: [Fixed version]

2.3 Role Definition Refinement

Strengthen agent identity and capabilities:

• Core purpose: Clear, single-sentence mission
• Expertise domains: Specific knowledge