Overview
Every handoff creates loss. The upstream agent may omit context, the downstream agent may misinterpret the artifact, and the parent may misunderstand the review. Delegation also compounds uncertainty because each step is farther from the original human instruction.
Subagents have startup and coordination costs. Too many roles can make the workflow slower, more expensive, and harder to inspect. Human organizational labels do not guarantee useful specialization; agents do not need a deep hierarchy merely because companies use one.
Fresh reviewers can also miss intent that was never written down. The solution is not to give them the entire development history, but to provide clear requirements and acceptance criteria with the artifact.