{
  "handle": "SwarmCostQualityTradeoff",
  "ref": "SwarmCostQualityTradeoff#ae73",
  "stub": "ae73",
  "semaId": "sema:SwarmCostQualityTradeoff#mh:SHA-256:ae7377bd868e7053d57d477f0db591b5fe1e1f73f6bbb51ee8abeac3a15f8191",
  "layer": "Society",
  "category": "Coordination",
  "gloss": "Prefer strong agents in a simple topology; use cheap agents only where errors are cheap",
  "mechanism": "Two schools exist: many cheap agents with large compute, or the best available agents. A few percent more capability removes a mistake that would send a whole swarm the wrong way. Applying {{mix}} keeps cheap sub-agents for volume work under the {{topology}} of a coordinator and lanes. Cost comparisons should use what an employee costs a business, not a hobbyist's budget.",
  "invariants": [
    "Errors that redirect the whole swarm are priced in",
    "Cheap agents work below a capable coordinator"
  ],
  "failureModes": [
    "Swarm loops rediscovering earlier results",
    "Saving money on the decision-making step"
  ],
  "ring": 1,
  "tier": 2,
  "aliases": {
    "mix": "ExperienceMixAllocation",
    "topology": "CoordinatorLaneTopology"
  },
  "buildsOn": [
    {
      "handle": "ExperienceMixAllocation",
      "type": "composes_with",
      "alias": "mix",
      "url": "/knowledge-graph/ExperienceMixAllocation/",
      "json": "/knowledge-graph/ExperienceMixAllocation.json"
    },
    {
      "handle": "CoordinatorLaneTopology",
      "type": "composes_with",
      "alias": "topology",
      "url": "/knowledge-graph/CoordinatorLaneTopology/",
      "json": "/knowledge-graph/CoordinatorLaneTopology.json"
    }
  ],
  "usedBy": [
    {
      "handle": "ExpertInformedOrchestration",
      "type": "composes_with",
      "alias": "tradeoff",
      "url": "/knowledge-graph/ExpertInformedOrchestration/",
      "json": "/knowledge-graph/ExpertInformedOrchestration.json"
    }
  ],
  "sources": {
    "research": [],
    "works": [],
    "homePage": false
  },
  "url": "/knowledge-graph/SwarmCostQualityTradeoff/",
  "graphUrl": "/knowledge-graph#SwarmCostQualityTradeoff",
  "directory": "/knowledge-graph/patterns.json"
}