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Instrumentation

Goal: Maintain measurable metrics on workflow friction so changes can be evaluated against real data, not vibes.

Three measurable metrics

Metric Definition How captured
Lead time Wall-clock time from "task captured" → "merged or accepted" daily-log.md timestamps
Context switches per task Count of distinct app/window/repo switches between task start and finish daily-log.md tally marks
Rework rate % of tasks requiring a second corrective pass after first "done" daily-log.md outcome flags

Secondary signals (lightweight): perceived friction (1-5), capability used (subagent / skill / MCP / none), and any blocked-on-tool moments.

Files in this phase

  • metrics.md — exact metric definitions and rules of thumb.
  • daily-log-template.md — per-task line format. Append-only.
  • baseline-report-template.md — the 3–5 day rollup format.
  • weekly-retro-template.md — keep/kill decisions and one calibration change per week.

Workflow

  1. Day 0: read metrics.md once, copy daily-log-template.md into daily-log.md (top of file is current day).
  2. Each task: add one row when starting, fill outcome when finishing.
  3. Day 3-5: generate the first baseline report from baseline-report-template.md.
  4. End of each week: weekly retro using the template. Make exactly one calibration change before next week.

Success gate

A baseline report exists with at least 10 logged tasks across ≥3 days, and the next phase can reference concrete numbers instead of opinions.