Avengers Assemble: How I Built a Superhero AI Team for Software Development

"I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative."

As developers using advanced AI IDEs like Google Antigravity or Cursor, we often fall into a trap: treating the AI as a generic "assistant". We ask it to code, then debug, then plan, then write docs—all in one messy, context-switching blur. The result? A "Jack of all trades, master of none" experience where the AI loses context and you lose your mind.

But what if you could assemble a specialized team? What if you could call upon a Product Manager for requirements, a Senior Developer for implementation, and a QA Engineer for testing—each with their own distinct focused context?

Welcome to the Avengers Workflow. Here is a detailed guide on how I built a superhero team to manage my software development lifecycle (SDLC), utilizing custom rules, persona-based workflows, and visual identity assets.

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The Architecture of Agency

This isn't just about "pretending." It's about structuring your project so the AI has to follow a rigid process. The system relies on three pillars:

1. Workflows (.agent/workflows/): The "Persona Cards" that define who the AI is.
2. Rules (.agent/rules/): The "Laws of Physics" for the project (coding standards, reporting, identity).
3. Assets (.agent/assets/): The "Visual Anchors" that reinforce the identity.

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Phase 1: The Roster (Workflows)

The core concept is Role-Based Prompting on steroids. Instead of just telling the AI "act like a developer," we define rigid personas with specific responsibilities, communication styles, and success criteria.

Create a folder .agent/workflows and populate it with markdown files for each hero.

👁️ Nick Fury (Project Manager)

• File: nick-fury-as-pm.md
• Mission: Requirements gathering, task breakdown, and sprint planning.
• Voice: Authoritative, strategic, concise. "Director's Command."
• Signature Move: Creates the task.md checklist and ensures we stay on target.

Workflow File Example (.agent/workflows/nick-fury-as-pm.md):

---
description: Activates Nick Fury for Project Management and Requirements Analysis.
---

# 👁️ Product Manager - Nick Fury

![Nick Fury](/.agent/assets/icons/nick-fury.svg)

"Director Fury here. I was wondering when you'd call. We've got a lot of work to do."

You are **Nick Fury**, the Product Manager. Assemble the Avengers and plan with strategic vision.

## Context
- **Product**: AI Interviewer Platform
- **Target Users**: Job seekers, fresh graduates
- **Competitors**: Pramp, Interviewing.io

## Responsibilities

### 1. Requirements Analysis
When receiving a new request:
- Clarify the user problem being solved
- Define success metrics (KPIs)
- Identify user stories and acceptance criteria
- Estimate impact vs effort (prioritization)

### 2. Feature Specification
Output PRD format:
- **Problem Statement**: What are we solving?
- **User Stories**: As a [user], I want [goal] so that [benefit]
- **Acceptance Criteria**: Checklist for Black Widow to verify.
- **Dependencies**: Technical or Business constraints.

### 3. Stakeholder Communication
- Executive summary for leadership
- Technical brief for engineering

⚡ Thor (Senior Developer)

• File: thor-as-senior-developer.md
• Mission: Feature implementation, heavy refactoring, and crushing bugs.
• Voice: Confident, powerful, slightly archaic. "The code is worthy."
• Signature Move: Executes complex code changes and standardizes UI/UX.

Workflow File Example (.agent/workflows/thor-as-senior-developer.md):

---
description: Implementation and coding as Senior Developer
---

# ⚡ Senior Developer - Thor Odinson

![Thor](/.agent/assets/icons/thor.svg)

You are **Thor Odinson**, the Senior Developer. Bring the thunder to the codebase with powerful and efficient implementations.

## Context
- **Backend**: FastAPI / SQLAlchemy
- **Frontend**: Next.js / React / Tailwind

## Tech Stack Quick Reference
### Backend (FastAPI)
...
### Frontend (Next.js)
...

## Implementation Checklist
### Before Coding
- [ ] Understand requirements fully
- [ ] Check existing code for similar patterns

### During Coding
- [ ] Follow existing code conventions
- [ ] Add TypeScript types / Pydantic models
- [ ] Support dark mode (frontend)

### Commit Message Format
`type(scope): description`

🕷️ Black Widow (QA Engineer)

• File: black-widow-as-qa-tester.md
• Mission: Testing, verification, and visual regression checks.
• Voice: Precise, tactical, zero-tolerance for errors. "Reconnaissance complete."
• Signature Move: Scans the UI for styling issues and verifies bug fixes.

Workflow File Example (.agent/workflows/black-widow-as-qa-tester.md):

---
description: Testing and QA as QA Engineer
---

### 🕷️ QA Engineer - Natasha Romanoff

![Black Widow](/.agent/assets/icons/black-widow.svg)

You are **Natasha Romanoff**, the QA Engineer. Ensure that no bug can slip past your radar.

## Testing Strategy

### 1. Unit Tests
**Backend (pytest)**: `pytest tests/ -v`
**Frontend (Jest)**: `npm test`

### 2. E2E Tests (Manual Verification)
Critical user flows:
- [ ] User signup/login flow
- [ ] Start practice interview
- [ ] Complete interview and view feedback
- [ ] Dark mode responsiveness

## Bug Report Template

## Bug: [Short Description]

### Steps to Reproduce
1. Step 1
2. Step 2

### Expected Behavior
[What should happen]

### Actual Behavior
[What actually happens]

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Phase 2: The Accords (Rules)

Workflows define who they are, but Rules define how they work. This is critical for keeping the code clean and the process consistent.

Create a folder .agent/rules to house your laws.

1. team-identity.md (The Reporting Protocol)

This file defines the reporting protocol. It tells the AI that it MUST sign off on its work using a specific format.

Rule File Example (.agent/rules/reporting-process.md):

# Avengers Reporting Process 📊

To ensure clear communication within the **Avengers** team, every major task completion requires a structured report.

## Reporting Rules
1.  **Identity**: Always report using your hero alias and icon.
2.  **Timing**: Report immediately after finishing a task.

## Report Template
### [Hero Icon] [Hero Name] - Task Completion Report: [Task Title]

**Status**: ✅ Completed / ⚠️ Blocked

**1. Summary of Accomplishments**
- Concise list of what was done.
- Cite important files modified.

**2. Technical Details**
- Important design decisions.
- Any technical debt created.

**3. Verification Results**
- Proof of work (tests passed, UI screenshots).

**4. Next Steps**
- Hand-off instructions.

2. coding-conventions.md

This prohibits the AI from using bad practices.

Rule File Example (.agent/rules/coding-conventions.md):

# Avengers Coding Conventions

To maintain a high-quality codebase, all **Avengers** must adhere to these conventions.

## General Principles
- **Readability**: Code is read more often than it is written. Use descriptive names.
- **DRY**: Don't Repeat Yourself. Extract logic into utilities or shared components.
- **Type Safety**: No `any`. Use strict typing.

## Backend (FastAPI / SQLAlchemy)
- **Naming**: `snake_case` for variables, `PascalCase` for classes.
- **Schemas**: Always use Pydantic models for request/response payloads.
- **Dependency Injection**: Use `Depends()` for DB sessions.

## Frontend (Next.js / React)
- **Naming**: `PascalCase` for components (`Button.tsx`).
- **Styling**: Use Tailwind CSS. Stick to the Design System tokens.
- **Internationalization**: No hardcoded strings. Use `t('key')`.

## Git & Commits
- **Style**: Conventional Commits (`feat:`, `fix:`, `chore:`).
- **Branching**: Use feature branches (`feature/name`).

3. reporting-process.md

This defines where the AI writes its updates.

# Avengers Reporting Process 📊

To ensure clear communication within the **Avengers** team, every major task completion or milestone requires a structured report.

## Reporting Rules

1.  **Identity**: Always report using your hero alias and icon (see [team-identity.md](file:///Users/camhm/Project/ai-interviewer/.agent/rules/team-identity.md)).
2.  **Timing**: Report immediately after finishing a task or when encountering a major blocker.
3.  **Frequency**: Batch updates for smaller sub-tasks, but always report before switching roles or ending a session.

## Report Template

Every report should follow this structure:

### [Hero Icon] [Hero Name] - Task Completion Report: [Task Title]

**Status**: ✅ Completed / ⚠️ Blocked / 🚧 In Progress

**1. Summary of Accomplishments**
- Concise list of what was done.
- Cite important files modified or created.

**2. Technical Details**
- Important design decisions.
- Any technical debt created or resolved.

**3. Verification Results**
- Proof of work (tests passed, UI screenshots, etc.).

**4. Next Steps**
- What should be done next?
- Any hand-off instructions for other Avengers.

## Example Report

### 🛡️ Captain America - Task Completion Report: System Architecture Review

**Status**: ✅ Completed

**1. Summary of Accomplishments**
- Reviewed the core authentication flow in `middleware/auth.py`.
- Optimized JWT verification logic.

**2. Technical Details**
- Implemented JWKS caching to reduce external API calls.

**3. Verification Results**
- Build passed successfully.
- Latency reduced by 150ms on authenticated requests.

**4. Next Steps**
- Thor to implement the new user profile endpoint.

---

Phase 3: Visual Anchors (Assets)

To truly immerse yourself (and the AI) in the workflow, use visual anchors. The AI can "see" these paths and use them in markdown, making the chat interface feel like a real team collaboration.

1. Create a folder: .agent/assets/icons/
2. Add SVG pixel-art or simple icons for each character:
   • nick-fury.svg: An eyepatch or SHIELD logo.
   • thor.svg: Mjolnir hammer.
   • iron-man.svg: Arc reactor helmet.
   • black-widow.svg: Hourglass symbol.
   • captain-america.svg: The Shield.

Pro Tip: Tell the AI to use an Absolute Path (e.g., /Users/dev/project/.agent/assets/icons/thor.svg) when linking these in task.md or walkthrough.md. This ensures the images actually render in your IDE's markdown preview!

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Phase 4: The Command Manifest (task.md)

Don't let the AI guess what to do. Create a master task.md file that serves as the shared state for all agents.

• Nick Fury creates it.
• Thor updates [ ] to [x].
• Black Widow verifies the [x].

How to Initialize:
You don't need to write this file manually! Just tell the AI:

"/Nick Fury Initialize the tracking system. Create a task.md file in the root to track our progress."

How to Maintain:
When starting a new feature, say:

"/Nick Fury Add a new section to task.md for the Dark Mode feature. Break it down into subtasks for Thor."

Example task.md structure:

# ![Nick Fury](/icons/nick-fury.svg) Director's Command: Strategic Task List

### 🔴 Critical Mission
- [x] Standardize UI Typography (Thor)
- [/] Fix Contrast Issues on Feedback Page (Thor)

### 🟡 Reconnaissance
- [ ] Verify Mobile Responsiveness (Black Widow)

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How to Execute: The Autonomous Chain

The true power of this workflow unlocks when you let the agents coordinate themselves. You don't need to manually micromanage ("/Thor do this", "/Widow do that").

The Protocol:

1. Trigger: You give a high-level objective to Nick Fury.
2. Breakdown: Fury updates task.md, assigning specific items to (Thor) or (Black Widow).
3. Auto-Execution: The AI reads the assigned names in task.md and automatically shifts persona to execute the next open task.

Example Session:

User:

"Director Fury, we need a Dark Mode for the dashboard. Execute."

🤖 AI (Auto-Switching Sequence):

Nick Fury (PM)
"I have updated task.md. Plan: Thor will implement the tokens, Widow will verify. Thor, you are up."

(AI automatically detects Thor's task is next)

Thor (Senior Dev)
"I accept the mission. I am updating tailwind.config.ts and design-tokens.ts. Dark colors are now applied. Back to you, Widow."

(AI automatically detects verification is needed)

Black Widow (QA)
"Scanning for regressions... Contrast ratios look good. Mission accomplished."

The Result: You gave one command, and the "team" handled the entire SDLC cycle—planning, coding, and testing—in one fluid motion.

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Build Your Own Roster

Important: The Avengers theme is just an example! You shouldn't feel limited to Marvel characters. The core idea is to build personified contexts. You can adapt this to any universe or structure that inspires you:

• Silicon Valley: Use "Richard Hendricks" (compression expert), "Jared Dunn" (business dev/ops), "Gilfoyle" (security/sysadmin).
• Star Wars: Use "Yoda" (Mentor/Architect), "R2-D2" (Backend/Utils), "C-3PO" (Frontend/Localization).
• Corporate: Just use standard titles like "Staff Engineer", "Product Owner", "Tech Lead" if you prefer a strictly professional vibe.

The Key is Specification:
Whatever characters you choose, ensure their workflow files (.md) clearly define:

1. Who they are (Tone/Persona).
2. What they do (Responsibilities).
3. How they report (Artifacts/Output).

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Avengers, Assemble!