Design a Mission

What You’ll Build

A mission file that decomposes a multi-session task into claimable objectives. By the end, any agent can pick up your mission, understand what needs to be done, and start working on the next objective.

Prerequisites

• Convergence Model — how the execution hierarchy narrows scope
• Mission Decomposition — the pattern for breaking work into objectives
• Token Selection — context budgets for mission-scoped work

Steps

Step 1: Define the Task

Start with what you’re trying to accomplish. Write it as a single sentence:

“Write 8 pattern files documenting reusable aDNA architectural patterns.”

If the sentence describes work that can fit in one session (2-4 hours of agent work), it might not need a mission — just do it. If it spans multiple sessions or involves distinct deliverables, it’s a mission.

Step 2: Identify Deliverables

List every concrete output the mission produces:

The rule: every objective must name a specific file or artifact. “Research token optimization” is not an objective. “Write concept_context_optimization.md” is.

Step 3: Map Dependencies

Some objectives must be completed before others. Map the dependency graph:

Objective 1 (foundational concepts)
  ↓
Objective 2 (governance concepts — resolves forward refs from Obj 1)
  ↓
Objective 3 (advanced concepts — builds on Obj 1+2 cross-links)

If there are no dependencies, objectives can be worked in any order. If there are, document them — an agent claiming Objective 3 needs to know that Objectives 1 and 2 must be done first.

Step 4: Estimate Context Budget

For each objective, estimate what context needs to be loaded:

## Context Dependencies

- `what/context/adna_core/context_adna_core_paradigm_overview.md` (~1K tokens)
- `what/context/adna_core/context_adna_core_context_engineering.md` (~1K tokens)
- M01-M02 concepts for cross-linking (~5K tokens)
- Campaign and mission docs (~5K tokens)
- **Total**: ~12K tokens → fits within 75% rule for 100K window

If the total exceeds what a session can hold, the mission has too many objectives or needs to be split.

Step 5: Write the Mission File

Put it all together using this structure:

---
type: plan
plan_id: mission_m04
campaign_id: campaign_rosetta
title: "M04 — Pattern Library"
status: pending
phase: 1
created: 2026-04-14
updated: 2026-04-14
last_edited_by: agent_stanley
tags: [mission, patterns]
context_budget: "~12K tokens"
---

# Mission M04 — Pattern Library

## Intent

{One paragraph: what the mission accomplishes and why it matters.}

## Objectives

| # | Objective | File | Status |
|---|-----------|------|--------|
| 1 | Write question test pattern | pattern_question_test.md | pending |
| 2 | Write AGENTS.md pattern | pattern_agents_md.md | pending |

## Context Dependencies

{List what to load before starting work.}

## Quality Gates

{What must be true before marking an objective complete.}

## Dependencies

{Which missions must be done first.}

Step 6: Validate the Design

See it in action: Open how/campaigns/campaign_rosetta/missions/mission_m04_pattern_library.md in this vault. It has 8 objectives across 4 pattern categories, context dependencies listed with specific file paths, and quality gates matching the campaign standard.

What You Learned

• Missions decompose multi-session work into claimable, session-sized objectives
• Every objective needs a named deliverable — not just a description of activity
• Context budgets determine whether the mission is correctly scoped
• The mission file is a self-contained briefing: any agent can pick it up and work

Next Steps

• Build a Lattice — compose a workflow from modules (advanced)
• Convergence Model — deeper understanding of how missions narrow scope
• Context Recipe — pre-define the context assembly for common mission types