10 KiB
10 KiB
Example: Parallel Research Delegation
This example shows how to decompose a research task into parallel specialist activities.
Scenario
User Request: "Research competitive landscape for our B2B SaaS pricing strategy"
Task Decomposition
Original Task: Research competitive landscape for B2B SaaS pricing
Activities Identified:
1. Analyze Competitor A (Salesforce) pricing
- Expertise: Market research
- Output: Pricing analysis document
- Dependencies: None
2. Analyze Competitor B (HubSpot) pricing
- Expertise: Market research
- Output: Pricing analysis document
- Dependencies: None
3. Analyze Competitor C (Zendesk) pricing
- Expertise: Market research
- Output: Pricing analysis document
- Dependencies: None
4. Synthesize competitive findings
- Expertise: Strategic analysis
- Output: Unified competitive strategy
- Dependencies: Activities 1, 2, 3
Execution Strategy: Mixed
- Parallel: Activities 1-3 (independent research)
- Sequential: Activity 4 (requires all results)
Reasoning: Each competitor analysis is independent. Synthesis must wait for all analyses to complete.
Agent Prompts Generated
Agent 1: Salesforce Analysis
FOCUS: Research Salesforce's B2B SaaS pricing strategy
- Identify all pricing tiers (Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited)
- Map features to each tier
- Note promotional strategies and discounts
- Calculate price-per-user for each tier
- Identify what features drive tier upgrades
EXCLUDE:
- Don't analyze their technology stack or implementation
- Don't make pricing recommendations yet (synthesis phase)
- Don't compare to other competitors (separate analyses)
- Don't analyze Salesforce Platform (focus on CRM product)
CONTEXT: We're researching competitive landscape for our B2B SaaS pricing strategy.
- Target market: Mid-market companies (100-500 employees)
- Looking for pricing patterns and positioning insights
- Focus on transparent, public pricing only
OUTPUT: Structured analysis document including:
- Pricing Tiers Table (tier name, price, billing cycle)
- Feature Matrix by Tier (features mapped to each tier)
- Key Insights (3-5 bullet points about their strategy)
- Notable Patterns (what we can learn from their approach)
- Competitive Positioning (how they position each tier)
SUCCESS: Complete analysis with actionable data
- All publicly available tiers documented
- Features accurately mapped to tiers
- Insights are specific and evidence-based
- Patterns identified are relevant to our market
TERMINATION:
- Analysis complete with all sections filled
- Information not publicly available (document what's missing)
- Maximum 2 hours of research time reached
Agent 2: HubSpot Analysis
FOCUS: Research HubSpot's B2B SaaS pricing strategy
- Identify all pricing tiers (Starter, Professional, Enterprise)
- Map features to each tier
- Note freemium offering and upgrade triggers
- Calculate price-per-contact for marketing hub
- Identify bundling strategy across products
EXCLUDE:
- Don't analyze technology implementation
- Don't make pricing recommendations yet
- Don't compare to other competitors
- Don't analyze HubSpot Academy or services pricing
CONTEXT: Competitive landscape research for B2B SaaS pricing.
- Target market: Mid-market companies (100-500 employees)
- Interest in freemium-to-paid conversion strategies
- Focus on Marketing Hub and Sales Hub pricing
OUTPUT: Structured analysis document including:
- Pricing Tiers Table
- Feature Matrix by Tier
- Freemium Analysis (what's free, what triggers upgrade)
- Key Insights (3-5 bullet points)
- Bundling Strategy (how products bundle together)
- Notable Patterns
SUCCESS: Complete analysis with freemium insights
- All tiers documented
- Freemium model understood
- Bundle pricing analyzed
- Insights are actionable
TERMINATION:
- Analysis complete
- Information unavailable
- 2 hours research time reached
Agent 3: Zendesk Analysis
FOCUS: Research Zendesk's B2B SaaS pricing strategy
- Identify all pricing tiers (Suite Team, Growth, Professional, Enterprise)
- Map features to each tier
- Note per-agent pricing model
- Analyze add-on pricing strategy
- Identify what drives customer to higher tiers
EXCLUDE:
- Don't analyze implementation details
- Don't make recommendations yet
- Don't compare to competitors
- Don't analyze Zendesk Sell (focus on Support product)
CONTEXT: Competitive research for B2B SaaS pricing strategy.
- Target market: Mid-market companies
- Interest in per-seat vs per-usage pricing models
- Focus on customer support software pricing
OUTPUT: Structured analysis including:
- Pricing Tiers Table
- Feature Matrix by Tier
- Per-Agent Economics (cost per agent at scale)
- Add-On Pricing (what extras cost money)
- Key Insights (3-5 bullet points)
- Upgrade Drivers (what makes customers move up tiers)
SUCCESS: Complete analysis with per-seat insights
- All tiers documented
- Per-agent model understood
- Add-on strategy mapped
- Insights are specific
TERMINATION:
- Analysis complete
- Information unavailable
- 2 hours research reached
Agent 4: Synthesis (Sequential, after 1-3)
FOCUS: Synthesize competitive pricing findings into unified strategy insights
EXCLUDE:
- Don't create our pricing (separate decision)
- Don't add new competitor research
- Don't analyze product features (stick to pricing patterns)
CONTEXT: We have three completed competitor analyses.
- Salesforce analysis: [Results from Agent 1]
- HubSpot analysis: [Results from Agent 2]
- Zendesk analysis: [Results from Agent 3]
- Goal: Extract patterns and strategic insights
OUTPUT: Competitive Pricing Strategy Document including:
- Cross-Competitor Patterns (themes across all three)
- Pricing Model Comparison (per-user vs per-contact vs per-usage)
- Tier Strategy Analysis (how competitors structure tiers)
- Freemium Insights (who uses it, how it works)
- Feature Differentiation (what features separate tiers)
- Positioning Opportunities (gaps or opportunities for us)
- Strategic Recommendations (3-5 actionable insights)
SUCCESS: Unified synthesis with strategic value
- Patterns identified across competitors
- Comparisons are fair and evidence-based
- Recommendations are actionable
- No contradiction between analyses
TERMINATION:
- Synthesis complete
- Conflicting data needs clarification (escalate)
- All sections filled
Execution Flow
Phase 1: Launch Parallel Research (Agents 1-3)
🚀 Launching 3 parallel research agents
Agent 1: Salesforce Analysis → RUNNING
Agent 2: HubSpot Analysis → RUNNING
Agent 3: Zendesk Analysis → RUNNING
File Coordination Check:
✅ Agent 1 OUTPUT: research/salesforce-pricing.md
✅ Agent 2 OUTPUT: research/hubspot-pricing.md
✅ Agent 3 OUTPUT: zendesk-pricing.md
✅ All paths unique - No collision risk
Parallel Safety Check:
✅ Independent tasks - No dependencies
✅ Read-only research - No shared state
✅ Separate validation - Each can be reviewed independently
✅ Won't block - Different data sources
Status: ✅ SAFE FOR PARALLEL EXECUTION
Phase 2: Await Completion
⏳ Waiting for parallel agents...
Agent 1: COMPLETE ✅ (45 minutes)
- Salesforce analysis delivered
- All sections complete
- 4 tiers documented
Agent 2: COMPLETE ✅ (52 minutes)
- HubSpot analysis delivered
- Freemium model analyzed
- 3 tiers + free tier documented
Agent 3: COMPLETE ✅ (38 minutes)
- Zendesk analysis delivered
- Per-agent model mapped
- 4 tiers + add-ons documented
All parallel agents complete. Proceeding to synthesis.
Phase 3: Launch Synthesis (Agent 4)
🚀 Launching synthesis agent
Agent 4: Competitive Synthesis → RUNNING
Context provided:
- Salesforce results (from Agent 1)
- HubSpot results (from Agent 2)
- Zendesk results (from Agent 3)
Agent 4: COMPLETE ✅ (25 minutes)
- Cross-competitor patterns identified
- 5 strategic recommendations generated
- Positioning opportunities highlighted
Results
Total Time: 52 minutes (parallel) + 25 minutes (synthesis) = 77 minutes
Compare to sequential: 45 + 52 + 38 + 25 = 160 minutes Time saved: 83 minutes (52% faster)
Deliverables
📁 research/
├── salesforce-pricing.md (Agent 1)
├── hubspot-pricing.md (Agent 2)
├── zendesk-pricing.md (Agent 3)
└── competitive-strategy.md (Agent 4 synthesis)
Key Insights Generated
From the synthesis agent:
-
Tiering Pattern: All three use 3-4 tier structure with similar progression (basic → professional → enterprise)
-
Pricing Models: Mixed approaches
- Salesforce: Per-user, all-inclusive features
- HubSpot: Per-contact, freemium base
- Zendesk: Per-agent, add-on marketplace
-
Feature Gating: Core features in all tiers, advanced analytics/automation in top tiers
-
Freemium: Only HubSpot uses freemium successfully (strong upgrade triggers identified)
-
Opportunity: Gap in mid-market transparent pricing - competitors hide "contact sales" behind top tier
Lessons Learned
What Worked Well
✅ Parallel execution: Saved 52% time ✅ Independent research: No coordination overhead ✅ Synthesis phase: Unified findings effectively ✅ Unique file paths: No collisions ✅ Explicit FOCUS/EXCLUDE: Agents stayed on task
Improvements for Next Time
- Add time limits to prevent research rabbit holes
- Specify exact format (all agents used slightly different table formats)
- Request specific pricing data points (some agents missed cost-per-user calculations)
- Consider adding validation agent before synthesis (check data accuracy)
Reusable Template
This pattern works for any parallel research:
1. Decompose research into independent topics
2. Create identical FOCUS/EXCLUDE templates
3. Customize context and output paths only
4. Launch all in parallel
5. Synthesis agent consolidates findings
Use when:
- Researching multiple competitors
- Analyzing multiple technologies
- Gathering multiple data sources
- Interviewing multiple stakeholders