Worked Examples
Each row shows the base tier, the escalators that fired and the result. Use them to calibrate borderline calls.
Technical
| Task |
Result |
Deciding signal |
| “fix typo in README” |
🟢 Haiku |
Trivial single edit, no reasoning |
| “convert PDF to markdown” |
🟢 Haiku |
Simple conversion, no decisions |
| “debug flaky integration test” |
🟡 Sonnet |
Single-system debugging, moderate reasoning |
| “refactor auth across 15 files” |
🔴 Opus |
Scope escalator on top of architectural decisions |
| “design database schema for e-commerce” |
🔴 Opus |
Architecture with trade-offs and long-term impact |
| “plan microservices migration strategy” |
🔴 Opus |
Complex architectural planning plus Irreversibility |
Business and strategy
| Task |
Result |
Deciding signal |
| “summarise this meeting transcript” |
🟢 Haiku |
Text transformation under 2K words |
| “extract action items from notes” |
🟢 Haiku |
Extraction, no reasoning |
| “write blog post about AI trends” |
🟡 Sonnet |
Creative writing, moderate reasoning |
| “draft sales proposal for enterprise client” |
🟡 Sonnet |
Persuasive writing, moderate reasoning |
| “analyse competitor pricing strategy” |
🟡 Sonnet |
Research with a single framework |
| “plan market entry strategy for Europe” |
🔴 Opus |
Irreversibility, Synthesis and Ambiguity |
| “design organisational restructuring plan” |
🔴 Opus |
Sensitivity, Stakeholders and Irreversibility |
| “M&A due diligence analysis” |
🔴 Opus |
Stakes and Synthesis |
| “crisis communication plan for a data breach” |
🔴 Opus |
Sensitivity, Stakes and Stakeholders |
Creative and analysis
| Task |
Result |
Deciding signal |
| “translate paragraph to French” |
🟢 Haiku |
Language transform, no reasoning |
| “brainstorm product names (single session)” |
🟡 Sonnet |
Creative generation, one framework |
| “brainstorm with SCAMPER plus trade-off analysis” |
🔴 Opus |
Multi-framework |
| “retrospect: analyse collaboration patterns” |
🔴 Opus |
Pattern detection plus Bias identification |
| “identify blind spots in strategy” |
🔴 Opus |
Bias identification plus Ethical reasoning |
| “plan 3-day conference with speakers” |
🔴 Opus |
Many constraints and Stakeholders |
Commands, skills and agents
| Task |
Result |
Deciding signal |
| “command: convert EPUB to markdown” |
🟢 Haiku |
Simple workflow, minimal reasoning |
| “command: save session context” |
🟡 Sonnet |
Context management, serialisation logic |
| “command: brainstorm with research plus SCAMPER” |
🔴 Opus |
Multi-framework plus strategic analysis |
| “command: retrospect domain learnings” |
🔴 Opus |
Pattern detection across sessions plus Bias identification |
| “skill: format code with prettier” |
🟢 Haiku |
Deterministic task |
| “skill: standard workflow implementation” |
🟡 Sonnet |
Standard workflow, moderate reasoning |
| “agent: explore codebase architecture” |
🔴 Opus |
Exploration plus architectural synthesis |
Cases where the escalator decides
Task: "fix a typo in the production payment config"
Base: Haiku (typo fix). Fired: Stakes (production, payments).
Result: Sonnet. One tier up, not Opus.
Task: "rename a function across 40 files with a codemod"
Base: Sonnet. Fired: none. Scope is one mechanical decision, not 40.
Result: Sonnet. Check the diff before trusting the codemod.
Task: "write a customer apology email after an outage"
Base: Sonnet. Fired: Sensitivity (customer-facing crisis).
Result: Opus. Sonnet is enough for the internal incident summary.