Comment by aaroninsf

I use plan mode, because my current project benefits from "pair programming."

I have one session define a task, and provide a formal specification plus context in a "cover letter."

The session B, in plan mode, produces the plan back.

Session one reviews the plan and clears it, ratifying portions and often specifying specific changes.

Session one then executes.

What has been striking to me in this approach is that even with two instances of the same model (currently Opus 5.5), there are regularly corrections made. I use "project chat" for session A and Code for session B atm; it is very typical that Code finds and corrects details or oversights in the task spec; it is also typical (though less so with 5.5) that session A (chat) pushes back or clarifies things Code doesn't have the context for.

I have been afraid to open up the potential of negotiation beyond what this is costing as it is. But I am also afraid to simply skip the formalisms, because of the consistent correction that occurs in this back-and-forth.

Each component of the pattern is schematized, generated from a template, and validated, to keep things tight.

Lots of tokens! But I trust this process far more than "just typing" :)