05 Failure Mode Analysis Template

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For each pattern implementation:

  • What can fail?
  • How likely?
  • What's the impact?
  • How to detect?
  • How to recover?
  • User communication strategy?

Hub-and-Spoke

The hub meaningfully synthesizes results using logic, resolves conflicts, and creates a coherent strategy.

Example: Financial Portfolio

  • Stocks Agent: "40% allocation"
  • Bonds Agent: "30% allocation"
  • Real Estate Agent: "20% allocation"
  • Tax Agent: "10% cash + £2K savings strategy"

Hub does:

1. Receives all 4 recommendations
2. VERIFIES: 40+30+20+10 = 100% ✓
3. ASSESSES combined risk: Medium
4. CALCULATES weighted return: 7-9%
5. INTEGRATES tax optimization
6. CREATES unified strategy with rationale

Hub output:

"Balanced portfolio (growth 40%, stability 30%, diversification 20%, tax-optimized 10%). Risk: Medium. Return: 7-9%. Saves £2K/year."

Hub had to:

  • Verify allocations total 100%
  • Assess if recommendations work together
  • Calculate combined metrics (risk, return)
  • Integrate tax strategy across all allocations
  • Create coherent rationale

When to use Parallel Coordination

NO synthesis needed. Just collect and present.

Ask: "Could I just list all the results without combining them?"

Examples:

  • Travel planning: "Flight £250, Hotel £180, Car £45" ← Just a list
  • Price comparison: "Amazon £15, eBay £12, Walmart £14" ← Just prices
  • Document analysis: "Translation done, Summary done, Sentiment: positive" ← Independent results

When to use Hub-and-Spoke

Hub can't just list results. It must CREATE something new from them.

Ask: "Does the coordinator need to THINK about how these results work together?"

Examples:

  • Financial portfolio: Hub must verify 100% total, calculate combined risk ← Synthesis required
  • Medical diagnosis: Hub must correlate symptoms + labs + imaging + history ← Integration required
  • Legal strategy: Hub must weigh strength across all legal domains ← Strategic synthesis required

The Differences:

Aspect

Parallel Coordination

Hub-and-Spoke

Coordinator Role

Aggregator (simple combination)

Synthesizer (intelligent integration)

Synthesis Logic

None - just collects results

Complex - verifies, resolves, integrates

Specialist Outputs

Independent, don’t need to work together

Must be combinable into a coherent whole

Conflict Handling

No conflicts possible (just listing results)

Must resolve conflicts (e.g., recommendations exceed 100%)

Final Output

List of independent results

Unified recommendation with integrated logic

Expertise Required

Coordinator just aggregates

Hub must understand all domains to synthesize

Example Output

“Flight £250, Hotel £180, Car £45”

“Balanced portfolio: 40% stocks, 30% bonds, 20% real estate, 10% cash. Risk: Medium. Return: 7–9%”

If One Result Changes

Other results unaffected

Hub must re-synthesize everything

Decision Rule

Can I just list the results? → Yes

Must I combine results into something new? → Yes

The Real-World Test:

Parallel Coordination:

"If one specialist's result changes, other results don't need to change."

Example: If flight price goes from £250 → £300, hotel and car stay the same.

Hub-and-Spoke:

"If one specialist's result changes, hub must RE-SYNTHESIZE everything."

Example: If Stocks specialist changes from 40% → 50%, hub must:

  • Recalculate risk (now higher)
  • Recalculate return (now different)
  • Possibly adjust other allocations to maintain 100%
  • Re-verify tax strategy still works

Everything is interconnected.


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