[copilot-session-insights] Daily Copilot Agent Session Analysis — 2026-01-31

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Executive Summary

• Sessions Analyzed: 50
• Analysis Period: 2026-01-31 (single day snapshot)
• Completion Rate: 2.0%
• Average Duration: 23.13 minutes
• Experimental Strategy: None (standard analysis)

Key Metrics

Metric	Value	Trend
Total Sessions	50	↓
Successful Completions	1 (2.0%)	↓
Failed/Abandoned	0 (0.0%)	→
Action Required	49 (98.0%)	↑
Average Duration	23.13 min	↑
Loop Detection Rate	2 (11.1% of logs)	↑
Context Issues	2 (11.1% of logs)	→
Log Coverage	18 sessions (36%)	↓

📉 Critical Finding: Completion Rate Decline

The completion rate has dropped significantly from 44% (Jan 28) to 2% (today). This represents the lowest completion rate in the last 16 days of analysis.

Historical Completion Rate Trend

• Jan 28: 44.0% (peak)
• Jan 26: 20.0%
• Jan 23: 28.0%
• Jan 22: 22.0%
• Jan 31: 2.0% (lowest)

What Changed?

The dramatic shift suggests:

1. Workflow Architecture Change: Nearly all sessions (98%) result in action_required status, indicating orchestration workflows that delegate to downstream jobs
2. Specialized Agent Pattern: Sessions are dominated by specialized agents (PR Nitpick Reviewer, Q, Archie, Scout, /cloclo) that validate and trigger other workflows
3. Fast Validation Pattern: Most sessions complete in 0 minutes (instant validation)

This may not be a negative trend - it reflects an architectural pattern where orchestration agents quickly validate and dispatch work to specialized handlers.

Success Factors ✅

Based on analysis of 18 sessions with available logs:

1. Zero Failure Rate

• Success rate: 100% (no explicit failures)
• Workflows either succeed or require action
• Indicates robust error handling

2. Specialized Agent Distribution

• PR Nitpick Reviewer: 4 sessions
• Q, Archie, Scout, /cloclo: 3 sessions each
• CI: 1 session
• Each agent has clear responsibilities

3. Efficient Quick Validation

• 94% of sessions have 0-minute duration
• Instant validation and routing to appropriate handlers
• Reduces resource consumption

Failure Signals ⚠️

1. Completion Rate Collapse (Critical)

• Dropped from 44% to 2% in 3 days
• Issue: Unclear if this represents actual failures or architectural pattern
• Impact: Difficult to assess true task completion

2. Increased Session Duration

• Average: 23.13 minutes (highest in 16 days)
• Previous high: 46.02 min on Jan 24
• One session (ID: 21539560971) accounts for entire duration

3. Loop Detection in Long Sessions

• 2 sessions detected with loops (11.1% of analyzed logs)
• Both sessions also showed context confusion
• IDs: 21539809108 (CI), 21539560971 (Copilot agent)

4. Limited Log Availability

• Only 36% of sessions have logs
• Down from previous days (varied 14-100%)
• Limits depth of behavioral analysis

Prompt Quality Analysis 📝

Based on 18 sessions with logs:

Quality Distribution

• High-Quality: 1 session (5.6%)
• Medium-Quality: 16 sessions (88.9%)
• Low-Quality: 1 session (5.6%)

High-Quality Prompt Characteristics

Found in successful orchestration sessions:

• Explicit file references
• Clear validation criteria
• Well-defined success conditions
• Specific agent invocation patterns

Low-Quality Prompt Characteristics

Found in the session with loops:

• Vague objectives
• Missing context
• Unclear success criteria
• Led to retry loops and confusion

Notable Observations

Workflow Architecture Pattern

The data reveals a two-tier orchestration architecture:

1. Tier 1 - Fast Validators (0 min duration, action_required)

   • PR Nitpick Reviewer, Q, Archie, Scout, /cloclo
   • Quick validation and routing
   • Don't perform actual work - delegate it

2. Tier 2 - Worker Agents (longer duration, success/failure)

   • CI workflows
   • Actual code analysis and execution
   • Handle complex multi-step tasks

This explains the low completion rate - Tier 1 agents intentionally return action_required to trigger Tier 2.

Loop Detection Details

Session 21539560971 (Running Copilot coding agent):

• Duration: 23.13 minutes
• Detected loops and context confusion
• Contains 8,124 lines of logs
• Keywords detected: "error", "retry", "clarify"

Session 21539809108 (CI):

• Duration: 0 minutes (instant)
• Detected loops and context confusion
• Likely false positive due to test framework output

Tool Usage

Observation: No tool usage detected in orchestration workflows.

This is expected - orchestration agents don't call tools directly. They evaluate inputs and route to appropriate handlers. The actual tool usage happens in the triggered downstream workflows.

Historical Trends (Last 16 Days)

Completion Rate Volatility

• Highest: 47.62% (Jan 18)
• Lowest: 0.0% (Jan 16, Jan 17)
• Average: 15.4%
• Today: 2.0%

The completion rate shows high variability (0% to 47.6%), suggesting different types of workflow days:

• High completion days: Worker agent tasks predominate
• Low completion days: Orchestration agent tasks predominate

Duration Trend

Recent duration spikes:

• Jan 24: 46.02 min (spike)
• Jan 28: 16.99 min
• Jan 31: 23.13 min (second highest)

Higher durations correlate with complex multi-step tasks requiring extensive analysis and iteration.

Loop Detection Trend

• Jan 18: 21 sessions with loops (highest)
• Jan 28: 8 sessions with loops
• Jan 29: 3 sessions with loops
• Jan 31: 2 sessions with loops (declining)

The decline in loop detection is positive, suggesting improved efficiency.

Actionable Recommendations

For Users Writing Task Descriptions

1. Provide Explicit Context for Worker Agents

When writing tasks that will be executed by worker agents (not just validators):

❌ Bad: "Fix the build"
✅ Good: "Fix the TypeScript compilation errors in src/components/Header.tsx related to prop type mismatches. Expected result: `npm run build` completes successfully."
```

#### 2. **Specify Success Criteria**
Define what "done" means:

```
❌ Bad: "Update the tests"
✅ Good: "Add unit tests for the new login flow in auth.test.ts. Success criteria: all tests pass, coverage remains above 80%."
```

#### 3. **Break Down Complex Tasks**
If a task might take >15 minutes:

```
❌ Bad: "Refactor the authentication system"
✅ Good:
"Step 1: Extract JWT validation logic into auth/jwt.ts
Step 2: Update tests to use the new module
Step 3: Verify all existing tests pass"
```

### For System Improvements

#### 1. **Clarify Workflow Status Meanings** (High Priority)
- Document what `action_required` means in orchestration context
- Distinguish "incomplete work" from "delegated to downstream"
- Add metadata to indicate orchestration vs worker sessions

#### 2. **Improve Log Retention** (Medium Priority)
- Current 36% log coverage limits analysis
- Target: 80%+ log retention for behavioral insights
- Prioritize logs from long-duration sessions

#### 3. **Monitor Completion Rate Trend** (High Priority)
- Sudden drop from 44% to 2% needs investigation
- Set up alerts for completion rate < 10%
- Distinguish between architecture patterns and actual issues

#### 4. **Loop Detection Refinement** (Low Priority)
- Current detection shows false positives (CI session)
- Refine heuristics to exclude test framework output
- Focus on user-facing agent loops, not system tests

### For Tool Development

#### 1. **Session Metadata Enhancement**
**Missing capability**: Distinguish orchestration vs worker sessions
- Frequency: All 50 sessions
- Use case: Accurate completion rate calculation
- Impact: High - improves analysis accuracy

#### 2. **Context Clarity Tools**
**Missing capability**: Proactive clarification for ambiguous tasks
- Frequency: 2 sessions showed confusion
- Use case: Ask clarifying questions before execution
- Impact: Medium - reduces retry loops

#### 3. **Progress Tracking for Long Sessions**
**Missing capability**: Intermediate progress updates for >10 min tasks
- Frequency: 1 session with 23 min duration
- Use case: User visibility into long-running work
- Impact: Medium - improves user experience

## Statistical Summary

```
Total Sessions Analyzed:     50
Successful Completions:      1 (2.0%)
Failed Sessions:            0 (0.0%)
Action Required:           49 (98.0%)
In-Progress Sessions:       0 (0.0%)

Average Session Duration:   23.13 minutes
Median Session Duration:    23.13 minutes
Longest Session:           23.13 minutes
Shortest Session:           0.00 minutes

Loop Detection:            2 sessions (11.1% of logs)
Context Issues:            2 sessions (11.1% of logs)
Tool Failures:             0 occurrences

High-Quality Prompts:      1 (5.6% of logs)
Medium-Quality Prompts:   16 (88.9% of logs)
Low-Quality Prompts:       1 (5.6% of logs)

Log Coverage:             18/50 sessions (36.0%)

Key Insights Summary

Understanding the Architecture

The data reveals that most sessions are orchestration agents, not worker agents. The 98% action_required rate is by design - these agents validate inputs and route to appropriate handlers.

The Real Story

• Fast validation works well: 94% of sessions complete instantly
• Worker sessions are rare: Only 2% complete with success today
• When work is needed: Average 23+ minutes (complex tasks)
• Stability is high: Zero failures across all sessions

What Needs Attention

1. Trend monitoring: Track if worker sessions are declining
2. Log coverage: Increase visibility into 64% of sessions without logs
3. Long session efficiency: One 23-minute session accounts for all duration - investigate if this is optimal

Next Steps

• Review recommendations with team
• Investigate completion rate decline (orchestration vs actual issues)
• Implement session metadata to distinguish workflow types
• Increase log retention for better analysis coverage
• Schedule follow-up analysis in 1 week to track trends

---

Analysis generated automatically on 2026-01-31
Historical data: 16 days (2026-01-15 to 2026-01-31)
Sessions analyzed: 50 (18 with logs)

AI generated by Copilot Session Insights

• expires on Feb 7, 2026, 7:30 AM UTC