Roles & Collaboration
Clear roles prevent confusion. Humans lead; AI assists. Every project has defined responsibilities for scope, build, and quality.
Why roles matter
The Catalyst operating model prevents drift between stakeholder intent and delivered product. It reduces rework, provides a safe pathway from POC to production, and enables consistent, repeatable delivery.
Non-negotiables
Proof over wireframes
Working code is the source of truth, not static designs or slide decks.
Intent captured durably
Vision, Architecture, and Requirements are written artefacts, not verbal agreements.
Checkpoints are mandatory
Each delivery phase has a checkpoint. No skipping—they keep projects aligned.
Stages have standards
POC quality is not production quality. Each stage has defined expectations.
Human roles
Humans own decisions, relationships, and outcomes:
Project Lead
- • Drives clarity and momentum
- • Manages client expectations
- • Approves phase plans and checkpoint decisions
- • Owns delivery outcomes
Reviewer
- • Reviews code and artefacts
- • Validates checkpoint criteria
- • Provides technical guidance
- • Approves stage transitions
Client / Stakeholder
- • Provides context and requirements
- • Participates in workshops and reviews
- • Makes scope decisions
- • Approves stage completions
AI agent roles
AI agents assist with execution but don't make decisions:
Project Agent
- • Crystallises intent, vision, and scope
- • Produces Vision, Architecture, and Requirements docs
- • Challenges assumptions via stress testing
- • Maintains State of Play document
Coding Agent
- • Executes against intent with discipline
- • Proposes phased build plans
- • Implements incrementally with review points
- • Maintains code quality and standards
Artefacts
Durable documents that capture intent and track progress:
Vision
What success looks like. The north star for the project.
Architecture
Technical approach, design decisions, and system boundaries.
Requirements
Specific features and acceptance criteria by phase.
State of Play
Current status, decisions made, and next actions.
Artefacts live in /catalyst/specs/ and are read by the Coding Agent automatically.
How it flows
- 1
Human defines intent
Client shares context and requirements in a workshop
- 2
Project Agent crystallises
Produces Vision, Architecture, and Requirements documents
- 3
Human approves at Brief checkpoint
Stakeholders sign off on direction before build
- 4
Coding Agent builds in phases
Proposes plan, implements incrementally, summarises after each phase
- 5
Human reviews at Review checkpoint
Validates work matches intent, approves to continue
- 6
Human approves at Refine checkpoint
Confirms production-readiness, signs off on deployment
Delivery stages
Projects progress through defined stages with increasing quality:
Role of design
Design expectations scale with stages. POC uses basics; Production requires full design system compliance. The Design System provides consistency without slowing down early stages.
Explore the Design System