multiple-personas

Multiple Personas Workflow Example

This example demonstrates how to use beads when different roles work on the same project (architect, implementer, reviewer, etc.).

Problem

Complex projects involve different personas with different concerns:

• Architect: System design, technical decisions, high-level planning
• Implementer: Write code, fix bugs, implement features
• Reviewer: Code review, quality gates, testing
• Product: Requirements, priorities, user stories

Each persona needs:

• Different views of the same work
• Clear handoffs between roles
• Track discovered work in context

Solution

Use beads labels, priorities, and dependencies to organize work by persona, with clear ownership and handoffs.

Setup

# Initialize beads
cd my-project
bd init

# Start Dolt server for auto-sync (optional for teams)
bd dolt start

Persona: Architect

The architect creates high-level design and makes technical decisions.

Create Architecture Epic

# Main epic
bd create "Design new caching layer" -t epic -p 1
# Returns: bd-a1b2c3

# Add architecture label
bd label add bd-a1b2c3 architecture

# Architecture tasks
bd create "Research caching strategies (Redis vs Memcached)" -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-a1b2c3
bd label add bd-xyz architecture

bd create "Write ADR: Caching layer design" -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-a1b2c3
bd label add bd-abc architecture

bd create "Design cache invalidation strategy" -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-a1b2c3
bd label add bd-def architecture

View Architect Work

# See only architecture issues
bd list --label architecture

# See architecture issues that are ready
bd list --label architecture --status open | grep -v blocked

# High-priority architecture decisions
bd list --label architecture --priority 0
bd list --label architecture --priority 1

Handoff to Implementer

When design is complete, create implementation tasks:

# Close architecture tasks
bd close bd-xyz --reason "Decided on Redis with write-through"
bd close bd-abc --reason "ADR-007 published"

# Create implementation tasks with labels
bd create "Implement Redis connection pool" -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-a1b2c3
bd label add bd-impl1 implementation

bd create "Add cache middleware to API routes" -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-a1b2c3
bd label add bd-impl2 implementation

# Link implementation to architecture
bd dep add bd-impl1 bd-abc --type related  # Based on ADR
bd dep add bd-impl2 bd-abc --type related

Persona: Implementer

The implementer writes code based on architecture decisions.

View Implementation Work

# See only implementation tasks
bd list --label implementation --status open

# See what's ready to implement
bd ready | grep implementation

# High-priority bugs to fix
bd list --label implementation --type bug --priority 0
bd list --label implementation --type bug --priority 1

Claim and Implement

# Claim a task
bd update bd-impl1 --claim

# During implementation, discover issues
bd create "Need connection retry logic" -t bug -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-impl1
bd label add bd-bug1 implementation bug

bd create "Add metrics for cache hit rate" -p 2 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-impl1
bd label add bd-metric1 implementation observability

# Complete implementation
bd close bd-impl1 --reason "Redis pool working, tested locally"

Handoff to Reviewer

# Mark ready for review
bd create "Code review: Redis caching layer" -p 1
bd label add bd-review1 review

# Link to implementation
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-impl1 --type related
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-impl2 --type related

Persona: Reviewer

The reviewer checks code quality, tests, and approvals.

View Review Work

# See all review tasks
bd list --label review --status open

# See what's ready for review
bd ready | grep review

# High-priority reviews
bd list --label review --priority 0
bd list --label review --priority 1

Perform Review

# Claim review
bd update bd-review1 --claim

# Found issues during review
bd create "Add unit tests for retry logic" -t task -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-review1
bd label add bd-test1 implementation testing

bd create "Fix: connection leak on timeout" -t bug -p 0 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-review1
bd label add bd-bug2 implementation bug critical

bd create "Document Redis config options" -p 2 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-review1
bd label add bd-doc1 documentation

# Block review until issues fixed
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-test1 --type blocks
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-bug2 --type blocks

Approve or Request Changes

# After fixes, approve
bd close bd-review1 --reason "LGTM, all tests pass"

# Or request changes
bd update bd-review1 --status blocked
# (blockers will show up in dependency tree)

Persona: Product Owner

The product owner manages priorities and requirements.

View Product Work

# See all features
bd list --type feature

# See high-priority work
bd list --priority 0
bd list --priority 1

# See what's in progress
bd list --status in_progress

# See what's blocked
bd list --status blocked

Prioritize Work

# Bump priority based on customer feedback
bd update bd-impl2 --priority 0

# Lower priority for nice-to-haves
bd update bd-metric1 --priority 3

# Add product label to track customer-facing work
bd label add bd-impl2 customer-facing

Create User Stories

# User story
bd create "As a user, I want faster page loads" -t feature -p 1
bd label add bd-story1 user-story customer-facing

# Link technical work to user story
bd dep add bd-impl1 bd-story1 --type related
bd dep add bd-impl2 bd-story1 --type related

Multi-Persona Workflow Example

Week 1: Architecture Phase

Architect:

# Create epic
bd create "Implement rate limiting" -t epic -p 1  # bd-epic1
bd label add bd-epic1 architecture

# Research
bd create "Research rate limiting algorithms" -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-epic1
bd label add bd-research1 architecture research

bd update bd-research1 --claim
# ... research done ...
bd close bd-research1 --reason "Chose token bucket algorithm"

# Design
bd create "Write ADR: Rate limiting design" -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-epic1
bd label add bd-adr1 architecture documentation

bd close bd-adr1 --reason "ADR-012 approved"

Week 2: Implementation Phase

Implementer:

# See what's ready to implement
bd ready | grep implementation

# Create implementation tasks based on architecture
bd create "Implement token bucket algorithm" -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-epic1
bd label add bd-impl1 implementation
bd dep add bd-impl1 bd-adr1 --type related

bd create "Add rate limit middleware" -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-epic1
bd label add bd-impl2 implementation

# Claim and start
bd update bd-impl1 --claim

# Discover issues
bd create "Need distributed rate limiting (Redis)" -t bug -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-impl1
bd label add bd-bug1 implementation bug

Architect (consulted):

# Architect reviews discovered issue
bd show bd-bug1
bd update bd-bug1 --priority 0  # Escalate to critical
bd label add bd-bug1 architecture  # Architect will handle

# Make decision
bd create "Design: Distributed rate limiting" -p 0 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-bug1
bd label add bd-design1 architecture

bd close bd-design1 --reason "Use Redis with sliding window"

Implementer (continues):

# Implement based on architecture decision
bd create "Add Redis sliding window for rate limits" -p 0 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-design1
bd label add bd-impl3 implementation

bd close bd-impl1 --reason "Token bucket working"
bd close bd-impl3 --reason "Redis rate limiting working"

Week 3: Review Phase

Reviewer:

# See what's ready for review
bd list --label review

# Create review task
bd create "Code review: Rate limiting" -p 1
bd label add bd-review1 review
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-impl1 --type related
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-impl3 --type related

bd update bd-review1 --claim

# Found issues
bd create "Add integration tests for Redis" -t task -p 1 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-review1
bd label add bd-test1 testing implementation

bd create "Missing error handling for Redis down" -t bug -p 0 \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-review1
bd label add bd-bug2 implementation bug critical

# Block review
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-test1 --type blocks
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-bug2 --type blocks

Implementer (fixes):

# Fix review findings
bd update bd-bug2 --claim
bd close bd-bug2 --reason "Added circuit breaker for Redis"

bd update bd-test1 --claim
bd close bd-test1 --reason "Integration tests passing"

Reviewer (approves):

# Review unblocked
bd close bd-review1 --reason "Approved, merging PR"

Product Owner (closes epic):

# Feature shipped!
bd close bd-epic1 --reason "Rate limiting in production"

Label Organization

Recommended Labels

# Role labels
architecture, implementation, review, product

# Type labels
bug, feature, task, chore, documentation

# Status labels
critical, blocked, waiting-feedback, needs-design

# Domain labels
frontend, backend, infrastructure, database

# Quality labels
testing, security, performance, accessibility

# Customer labels
customer-facing, user-story, feedback

View by Label Combination

# Critical bugs for implementers
bd list --label implementation --label bug --label critical

# Architecture issues needing review
bd list --label architecture --label review

# Customer-facing features
bd list --label customer-facing --type feature

# Backend implementation work
bd list --label backend --label implementation --status open

Filtering by Persona

Architect View

# My work
bd list --label architecture --status open

# Design decisions to make
bd list --label architecture --label needs-design

# High-priority architecture
bd list --label architecture --priority 0
bd list --label architecture --priority 1

Implementer View

# My work
bd list --label implementation --status open

# Ready to implement
bd ready | grep implementation

# Bugs to fix
bd list --label implementation --type bug --priority 0
bd list --label implementation --type bug --priority 1

# Blocked work
bd list --label implementation --status blocked

Reviewer View

# Reviews waiting
bd list --label review --status open

# Critical reviews
bd list --label review --priority 0

# Blocked reviews
bd list --label review --status blocked

Product Owner View

# All customer-facing work
bd list --label customer-facing

# Features in progress
bd list --type feature --status in_progress

# Blocked work (needs attention)
bd list --status blocked

# High-priority items across all personas
bd list --priority 0

Handoff Patterns

Architecture → Implementation

# Architect creates spec
bd create "Design: New payment API" -p 1
bd label add bd-design1 architecture documentation

# When done, create implementation tasks
bd create "Implement Stripe integration" -p 1
bd label add bd-impl1 implementation
bd dep add bd-impl1 bd-design1 --type related

bd close bd-design1 --reason "Spec complete, ready for implementation"

Implementation → Review

# Implementer finishes
bd close bd-impl1 --reason "Stripe working, PR ready"

# Create review task
bd create "Code review: Stripe integration" -p 1
bd label add bd-review1 review
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-impl1 --type related

Review → Product

# Reviewer approves
bd close bd-review1 --reason "Approved, deployed to staging"

# Product tests in staging
bd create "UAT: Test Stripe in staging" -p 1
bd label add bd-uat1 product testing
bd dep add bd-uat1 bd-review1 --type related

# Product approves for production
bd close bd-uat1 --reason "UAT passed, deploying to prod"

Best Practices

1. Use Labels Consistently

# Good: Clear role separation
bd label add bd-123 architecture
bd label add bd-456 implementation
bd label add bd-789 review

# Bad: Mixing concerns
# (same issue shouldn't be both architecture and implementation)

2. Link Related Work

# Always link implementation to architecture
bd dep add bd-impl bd-arch --type related

# Link bugs to features
bd dep add bd-bug bd-feature --type discovered-from

3. Clear Handoffs

# Document why closing
bd close bd-arch --reason "Design complete, created bd-impl1 and bd-impl2 for implementation"

# Not: "done" (too vague)

4. Escalate When Needed

# Implementer discovers architectural issue
bd create "Current design doesn't handle edge case X" -t bug -p 0
bd label add bd-issue architecture  # Tag for architect
bd label add bd-issue needs-design  # Flag as needing design

5. Regular Syncs

# Daily: Each persona checks their work
bd list --label architecture --status open  # Architect
bd list --label implementation --status open  # Implementer
bd list --label review --status open  # Reviewer

# Weekly: Team reviews together
bd stats  # Overall progress
bd list --status blocked  # What's stuck?
bd ready  # What's ready to work on?

Common Patterns

Spike Then Implement

# Architect creates research spike
bd create "Spike: Evaluate GraphQL vs REST" -p 1
bd label add bd-spike1 architecture research

bd close bd-spike1 --reason "Chose GraphQL, created implementation tasks"

# Implementation follows
bd create "Implement GraphQL API" -p 1
bd label add bd-impl1 implementation
bd dep add bd-impl1 bd-spike1 --type related

Bug Triage

# Bug reported
bd create "App crashes on large files" -t bug -p 1

# Implementer investigates
bd update bd-bug1 --label implementation
bd update bd-bug1 --claim

# Discovers architectural issue
bd create "Need streaming uploads, not buffering" -t bug -p 0
bd label add bd-arch1 architecture
bd dep add bd-arch1 bd-bug1 --type discovered-from

# Architect designs solution
bd update bd-arch1 --label architecture
bd close bd-arch1 --reason "Designed streaming upload flow"

# Implementer fixes
bd update bd-bug1 --claim
bd close bd-bug1 --reason "Implemented streaming uploads"

Feature Development

# Product creates user story
bd create "Users want bulk import" -t feature -p 1
bd label add bd-story1 user-story product

# Architect designs
bd create "Design: Bulk import system" -p 1
bd label add bd-design1 architecture
bd dep add bd-design1 bd-story1 --type related

# Implementation tasks
bd create "Implement CSV parser" -p 1
bd label add bd-impl1 implementation
bd dep add bd-impl1 bd-design1 --type related

bd create "Implement batch processor" -p 1
bd label add bd-impl2 implementation
bd dep add bd-impl2 bd-design1 --type related

# Review
bd create "Code review: Bulk import" -p 1
bd label add bd-review1 review
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-impl1 --type blocks
bd dep add bd-review1 bd-impl2 --type blocks

# Product UAT
bd create "UAT: Bulk import" -p 1
bd label add bd-uat1 product testing
bd dep add bd-uat1 bd-review1 --type blocks

See Also

• Multi-Phase Development - Organize work by phase
• Team Workflow - Collaborate across personas
• Contributor Workflow - External contributions
• Labels Documentation - Label management guide