ZTE Progression Skill
Guide teams through the three levels of agentic coding: In-Loop, Out-Loop, and Zero-Touch Engineering.
When to Use
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Assessing current agentic maturity level
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Planning progression to higher automation
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Identifying blockers to ZTE adoption
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Building confidence for autonomous operation
Core Concepts
Three Levels
Level Presence KPI Description
In-Loop Constant Interactive prompting
Out-Loop 2 (prompt + review) AFK agents with review
Zero-Touch 1 (prompt only) Full automation
Progression Requirements
In-Loop -> Out-Loop:
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Workflows succeed on first attempt
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Tests catch issues reliably
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Similar tasks repeat frequently
Out-Loop -> ZTE:
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90%+ success rate
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Review catches nothing new
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Tests provide safety net
Assessment Workflow
Step 1: Identify Current Level
Search for agentic workflow indicators:
Look for:
- Manual prompting patterns (In-Loop)
- Automated workflows with review (Out-Loop)
- Fully automated shipping (ZTE)
Step 2: Analyze Success Metrics
Review KPI data if available:
Check @agentic-kpis.md or equivalent:
- Attempt counts
- Success streaks
- Review catch rates
Step 3: Identify Blockers
Common blockers to progression:
Blocker Mitigation
Low test coverage Improve tests before progressing
Inconsistent success Analyze failures, improve prompts
Review catches issues Tests need to catch these first
No rollback capability Add before enabling ZTE
Step 4: Recommend Next Steps
Based on current level, recommend:
At In-Loop:
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Start with Out-Loop for chores
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Build workflow automation
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Establish review process
At Out-Loop:
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Track review catch rate
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Build confidence with simple tasks
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Consider ZTE for high-confidence areas
Near ZTE:
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Enable for chores first
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Expand progressively
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Monitor continuously
Key Memory References
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@zte-progression.md - Three levels definition
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@zte-confidence-building.md - Building ZTE confidence
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@agentic-kpis.md - KPI tracking
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@composable-primitives.md - Workflow building blocks
Output Format
Provide assessment:
ZTE Assessment
Current Level: [In-Loop | Out-Loop | ZTE] Problem Classes Assessed: [chores, bugs, features]
Indicators Found
- [Evidence of current level]
Blockers to Progression
- [Identified blockers]
Recommendations
- [Specific next step]
- [Specific next step]
Target Timeline
- [Realistic progression timeline]
Anti-Patterns to Identify
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Skipping levels (Out-Loop before tests exist)
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All-or-nothing thinking (must ZTE everything)
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Ignoring failure signals (pushing forward despite issues)
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Review theater (reviewing without catching anything)
Version History
- v1.0.0 (2025-12-26): Initial release
Last Updated
Date: 2025-12-26 Model: claude-opus-4-5-20251101