analyst

The analyst agent (also called Metis) operates between a raw user request and the planning stage. It reads the stated requirements, surfaces every unanswered question, and produces a structured specification with testable acceptance criteria. Its output prevents the "but I thought you meant..." conversation from happening after implementation has already started.

Role

• Identify missing questions, undefined guardrails, and unvalidated assumptions in a request
• Enumerate scope risks and edge cases (unusual inputs, race conditions, boundary values)
• Produce acceptance criteria that are objectively pass/fail rather than subjective
• Define explicit scope boundaries — what is included and what is excluded from the work

When invoked

• At the start of $autopilot and $plan workflows, before planner creates a task sequence
• During $deep-interview sessions when the user's goal is still being clarified
• Whenever a task description is vague, contradictory, or missing measurable success criteria
• When an existing plan needs a requirements audit before execution begins

Inputs

• The user's task description or feature request
• Optional: a prior exploration report from the explore agent
• Optional: referenced specification documents or existing acceptance criteria

Outputs

• A structured analysis written to .omx/specs/<date>-<topic>.md containing:
  • Missing questions ranked by impact
  • Undefined guardrails with suggested concrete bounds
  • Scope risks with mitigation strategies
  • A validated assumption list with verification methods
  • Testable acceptance criteria (pass/fail conditions, not prose)

Limits

• Does not design the implementation — that is the architect agent's responsibility
• Does not write or modify any production or test code
• Does not prioritize features by market or user value — only by implementability and completeness

Related agents

• explore — provides codebase context that grounds the requirements analysis
• planner — consumes the acceptance criteria produced by analyst to sequence tasks
• architect — handles implementation design after requirements are settled
• critic — challenges plans and designs once requirements are in place