Agile Gates and Token Budgets¶
Updated: 2026-06-05
Lightweight operating gates for a tiny human + AI company. The goal is to keep work small, reviewable, and affordable without turning every task into accounting.
Operating Rule¶
Every meaningful work round needs an objective, owner, estimate band, exit criteria, and human gate.
Agents do not expand scope on their own. If the work no longer fits the approved round, split it and ask for approval.
Estimate Bands¶
| Band | Token budget | Use when |
|---|---|---|
S |
Up to 10k tokens | One focused task, short doc, small fix, narrow test pass |
M |
Up to 30k tokens | Small feature, small doc set, one agent round with review |
L |
Up to 75k tokens | Multi-step feature or multi-page deliverable |
XL |
Split by default | Only proceed if Terry explicitly approves the larger round |
Round Record¶
Before work starts, the responsible human or Planner should define:
- Objective
- Owner
- In scope
- Out of scope
- Estimate band
- Proposed token budget
- Exit criteria
- Required gate: intake, spec, build, test, release, or retro
Gates¶
| Gate | Decision | Required before moving on |
|---|---|---|
| Intake | Build, revise, research, or drop | Problem, target user, expected value, and rough band are clear. |
| Spec | Approve, revise, or drop | MVP, acceptance criteria, UI/security risks, and budget band are written. |
| Build | Continue, split, or stop | Implementation references the approved round and stays in scope. |
| Test | Ship, hold, or revise | Acceptance tests and simple security checks are reported. |
| Release | Ship or hold | Human owner approves the release. Terry approves client-facing releases. |
| Retro | Keep, change, or document lesson | Decisions and lessons are logged in the wiki. |
Slack Approval Language¶
Use explicit words so agents and humans can recognize decisions:
approvedrevisedropsplitshiphold
Budget Rules¶
plan:must include an estimate band and proposed token budget.build:must name the approved round or spec it is implementing.test:must report whether the work fits the approved acceptance criteria.- If an agent believes the task is
XL, it should propose smaller rounds instead of executing the whole request. - Actual token usage is useful when available, but estimate bands are enough for v1.