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The PO directing agents

"From typing to directing" for the product role. How a Product Owner turns a PFD into work an agent can do, and where the PO's authority ends.

The method​

  1. Decompose the PFD into agent-sized briefs — each a coherent slice with clear acceptance criteria.
  2. Write a good directing prompt — intent, the acceptance criteria in scope, constraints, what "done" looks like. Vague direction produces confident wrong work.
  3. Set the review rhythm — review at meaningful checkpoints, not keystroke-by-keystroke.
  4. Know when to escalate — a decision that needs engineering judgement (architecture, a risky change) goes to the Senior Dev; the PO doesn't direct past the boundary of product intent.

The boundary​

A PO may direct product and acceptance decisions. They may not unilaterally direct architecture, security-sensitive changes, or anything irreversible — those route to the accountable Senior Dev. Clear boundaries are what make parallel PO-directed and Dev-directed work safe.

Complements the engineering-side director–builder loop.