Handoff
Handoff is the structured transfer of context, decisions, and artifacts from one step—or one role—to the next in an AI-assisted workflow.
It covers human → agent (“here is the PRD”), agent → human (“review this diff”), and agent → agent packets in multi-step pipelines.
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What it means
Handoff packages state: inputs, constraints, open questions, files, and approval status so the next actor does not restart from zero or lose nuance.
Why designers should care
Bad handoff UX is the #1 cause of “the AI forgot what we decided.” Design explicit export, assignee, checklist, and version pins at every boundary.
Example
A PM handoff skill exports PRD sections, open risks, and Figma links into a Linear issue; the design agent loads the issue and cites which requirements it is addressing.
Common mistakes
- • Copy-paste from chat as the only handoff mechanism.
- • Agents starting new threads with no linked parent artifact.
- • Human review queues with no diff of what changed since last handoff.