Resource Arbitration

Resource conflicts are the most common (38.27%) and the most mechanically solvable. Two agents need the same resource. The arbitrator determines who gets it first based on business priority, then schedules the second request.

The arbitration algorithm: compare the business priority of each request (derived from the message envelope's priority field and the requesting agent's current task context). Higher priority wins immediate access. Equal priority resolves by deadline proximity — the agent with the nearer deadline goes first. If both are equal, the agent with the larger downstream dependency chain goes first (more agents waiting on this output means more total system delay if it is deprioritized).

The key insight: resource conflicts are scheduling problems, not strategic problems. They do not require debate, investigation, or role changes. They require a priority queue and a tiebreaker algorithm. Automating resource arbitration eliminated 38.27% of all conflict types from the manual resolution pipeline.