Agents vs. Personas
| Agents | Personas | |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | Claude Code | Humans |
| Purpose | How Claude behaves in a role | How a human operates in a role |
| Content | Prompt engineering, technical details | Workflows, checklists, decision criteria |
Core SDLC Personas (15)
Product Owner
Reviews: AI-generated buildspecs, product roadmap, feature priorities
Gates: 1 (Spec Review), 7 (Roadmap Update), 8 (Feature Flag Promotion)
Key Decision: Does this spec capture what users actually need?
Engineering Lead
Reviews: Implementation plans, AI-generated PRs, code quality
Gates: 2 (Plan Approval), 4 (PR Code Review), 8 (Feature Flag Promotion)
Key Decision: Is this technically feasible and properly scoped?
Architect
Reviews: System topology, technology choices, architectural soundness
Gates: 2 (Plan Approval)
Key Decision: Is this architecturally sound and consistent?
Developer
Reviews: AI-generated code for correctness, testing, maintainability
Gates: 4 (PR Code Review)
Key Decision: Is this code correct, clean, and well-tested?
Python Engineer
Reviews: Python code for correctness, type safety, best practices
Gates: Consulted when Python is used
Key Decision: Is Python the right tool here?
QA Engineer
Reviews: Test strategies, AI-generated tests, coverage
Gates: 1 (Spec Review — testability)
Key Decision: Are acceptance criteria testable and complete?
Technical PM
Reviews: Gate completion status, process adherence
Gates: All Gates (tracking)
Key Decision: Are all gates passing in order?
AI Specialist
Reviews: Prompt quality, agent orchestration, knowledge base
Gates: Skills design and optimization
Key Decision: Are prompts producing quality output?
Security Engineer
Reviews: Code for vulnerabilities, auth flows, data handling
Gates: 3 (Security Review)
Key Decision: Is this code secure enough to merge?
DevOps Engineer
Reviews: Infrastructure, CI/CD, deployment safety
Gates: Deployment gates
Key Decision: Will this deploy safely and roll back if needed?
UX/UI Designer
Reviews: User flows, UI implementation, design system
Gates: 1 (UX), 4 (UI)
Key Decision: Are user flows complete and intuitive?
PMO Lead
Reviews: SDLC process effectiveness, organizational standards
Gates: Process governance
Key Decision: Is the process working?
Marketing
Reviews: User-facing copy, tone, release announcements
Gates: 1 (Content), 4 (Copy), 7 (Release notes)
Key Decision: Is the tone right? Is jargon avoided?
Feature Flag Expert
Reviews: Flag architecture, rollout strategy, flag removal
Gates: 2, 3, 4 (Consult), 8 (Primary owner)
Key Decision: Is this feature safe to fully enable?
Legal
Reviews: Requirements for legal, compliance, regulatory implications
Gates: Pre-Gate 1 (PRD Review)
Key Decision: Are these requirements legally sound?
Builder Personas (9)
Platform-specific personas for building the 4SDL platform itself.
CTO
Reviews: Strategic alignment, build-vs-buy, architecture
Gates: 1, 2, 4, 6
CMO
Reviews: Market alignment, launch readiness, release communication
Gates: 1, 5, 7
Product Owner (Builder)
Reviews: Spec approval, user expectations, roadmap
Gates: 1, 5, 6, 7
Lead Developer
Reviews: Code correctness, conventions, PR quality
Gates: 2, 4
Software Architect
Reviews: System boundaries, API contracts, data models
Gates: 2, 4
Cloud Architect
Reviews: AWS infrastructure, IAM, operational readiness
Gates: 2, 3, 5, 6
DevOps (Builder)
Reviews: Pipeline changes, deployment readiness
Gates: 2, 5, 6
Security (Builder)
Reviews: Auth design, input validation, production security
Gates: 1, 3, 4, 6
UI/UX Designer (Builder)
Reviews: User flows, design system, responsiveness
Gates: 1, 4
Business & Sales Personas (5)
Sales Leader
Reviews: Commercial viability, pricing, competitive positioning
Gates: 1, 5, 6
Business Analyst
Reviews: Requirements completeness, business rules
Gates: 1, 2, 7
Customer Service Manager
Reviews: Supportability, troubleshooting docs
Gates: 1, 5, 6, 7
Go-to-Market Specialist
Reviews: Positioning, beta strategy, launch readiness
Gates: 1, 5, 6, 7
Onboarding Specialist
Reviews: Onboarding flows, time-to-value, guidance
Gates: 1, 4, 5, 7