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Persona Archetype Atlas

Formalized in v1.5.3; refreshed in v1.7.0. This atlas canonicalises the 37 archetypes FCC uses to classify its 168 personas and maps them onto the FCC workflow graphs. It complements — and does not replace — the auto-generated archetype-interaction-atlas.md (raw per-persona edge dump) and archetype-families.md (six-family coarse taxonomy).

Whereas archetype-interaction-atlas.md is regenerated by scripts/generate_archetype_interaction_atlas.py on every release, this document is hand-curated reference material. It answers three recurring questions:

  1. What archetype should I pick when I propose a new persona?
  2. Which archetypes dominate each FCC workflow graph?
  3. Which hand-off chains and escalation patterns recur across archetypes?

TL;DR

  • FCC v1.7.0 ships 168 personas spread across 37 canonical archetypes and 8 archetype families (up from 163 in v1.5.3: Pool D added EDM, LPA, MDC, IHR, RCRS under ecosystem_maintenance.yaml — all fit existing archetypes, no new canonical archetype or family was required).
  • The 37 canonical archetypes are a coalescence of 157 distinct archetype strings in the persona YAMLs (many are near-synonyms; The Feature Engineer and The Engineer both map to Engineer).
  • Every persona carries one canonical archetype and one family. Families are stable attractors; canonical archetypes are the leaf classification.
  • Workflow-graph affinity is statistical, not exclusive: most archetypes appear in more than one phase, but each has a dominant phase listed below.
  • When proposing a new persona, consult the assignment rubric at the bottom of this document before choosing a bespoke archetype string.

Archetype taxonomy (37 × 8)

The 37 canonical archetypes cluster into 8 archetype families. Families are the coarse taxonomy used in archetype-families.md; the 37 archetypes below are the fine-grained leaves.

Family Canonical archetypes Membership
Shepherds & Stewards Steward, Guardian, Curator, Auditor, Keeper, Sentinel, Validator, Champion, Advocate 37 personas
Architects & Builders Architect, Engineer, Designer, Builder, Integrator, Crafter, Operator, Modeler, Optimizer 30 personas
Investigators & Archaeologists Investigator, Archaeologist, Scout, Tracer, Analyst 12 personas
Translators & Ambassadors Translator, Ambassador, Reconciler, Federator, Weaver, Classifier, Cartographer 18 personas
Orchestrators & Planners Orchestrator, Planner, Editor 8 personas
Storytellers & Guides Storyteller, Guide 4 personas
Scientists Scientist 1 personas
Specialists (catch-all) Specialist 58 personas

The Specialists family is a deliberate catch-all for 58 deeply-scoped roles (The Notebook Governor, The Tool Forger, The Anomaly Detector) whose archetype strings are unique. When a new persona proposal fits one of the 36 non-specialist archetypes, prefer that assignment; the Specialist bucket exists to hold genuinely singular roles without forcing the 36-archetype taxonomy to absorb them.

Per-archetype reference

Each section below is the reference card for one canonical archetype. Format:

  • Description — one paragraph on the archetype's recurring behaviour pattern.
  • Workflow-graph affinity — the FCC phase(s) where the archetype most often acts.
  • Constituent personas — all personas that classify into this archetype, with their raw archetype string preserved for traceability back to the YAML source.
  • Interaction signature — the relationship types this archetype most frequently emits and receives.

Family: Shepherds & Stewards

Advocate

Description. Represents a constituency or principle (ethics, privacy, accessibility, commons) and pushes cross-cutting concerns into design decisions.

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (6).

  • The Harmonizer — LFSA (Local-First Sync Architect)
  • The Bridge — CSL (Citizen Science Liaison)
  • The Liberator — OAA (Open Access Advocate)
  • The Advocate — CRM (Consent & Rights Manager)
  • The Mediator — DEO (Data Ethics Officer)
  • The Conscience — AEA (AI Ethics Auditor)

Auditor

Description. Inspects artifacts against rules and surfaces gaps with cited evidence.

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (4).

  • The Auditor — FA (Forensic Auditor), GCA (Governance Compliance Auditor)
  • The Inspector — LPA (Local-Path Auditor)
  • Market Reconciliation Auditor — ENS (Energy Settlements Specialist)

Champion

Description. A promoted persona that orchestrates a team of base personas in the Champion Architecture pattern.

Workflow-graph affinity. Orchestration

Constituent personas (1).

  • The Open Science Champion — OSC (Open Science Compliance Officer)

Curator

Description. Collects, organizes, and retires content against standards and policies.

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (3).

  • The Curator — OSCU (Open-Science Curator), RIC (Research Inventory Crafter), EDM (Ecosystem Docs Maintainer)

Guardian

Description. Protects something precious — data, secrets, commons, reputation — against erosion.

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (6).

  • The Guardian — DE (Documentation Evangelist)
  • The Guardian of Commons — ILS (IP & Licensing Steward)
  • The Model Guardian — MOS (Model Ops Steward)
  • The Standards Guardian — PCA (Protocol Compliance Auditor)
  • The Inclusive Guardian — UAA (UX Accessibility Auditor)
  • Market Microstructure Guardian — ATR (Algorithmic Trading Reviewer)

Keeper

Description. Maintains long-lived state — calendars, observatories, observability spans.

Workflow-graph affinity. Ops

Constituent personas (3).

  • The Secret Keeper — KVC (Key Vault Config Steward)
  • The Registry Keeper — IRS (Innovation Registry Steward)
  • The Observatory Keeper — OTO (OpenTelemetry Orchestrator)

Sentinel

Description. Stands watch against a specific class of drift or regression (vocabulary, compliance, drift).

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (4).

  • The Sentinel — ARM (AI Risk Manager), VDS (Vocabulary Drift Sentinel)
  • BES Cyber Sentinel — NCP (NERC CIP Compliance Officer)
  • Risk Sentinel — PSE (Patient Safety Engineer)

Steward

Description. Long-horizon caretaker of an archive, commons, or vocabulary.

Workflow-graph affinity. Ops

Constituent personas (8).

  • The Archivist — LTAS (Long-Term Archive Steward)
  • The Steward — FDS (FAIR Data Steward), RCRS (Real-Corpus Refresh Steward)
  • Reporting Pipeline Steward — RRE (Regulatory Reporting Engineer)
  • Liquidity Pipeline Steward — LCR (Liquidity Coverage Ratio Engineer)
  • Federal Privacy Steward — GPIA (Government Privacy Impact Assessor)
  • Prudential Pipeline Steward — IFR (IFRS 17 & Solvency II Reporting Engineer)
  • Defensibility Steward — EDS (eDiscovery Specialist)

Validator

Description. Executes a named rule set against an artifact and emits pass/fail with evidence.

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (2).

  • The Data Validator — QGD (Quality Guardian)
  • The Validator — BV (Blueprint Validator)

Family: Architects & Builders

Architect

Description. Designs structural relationships among systems and components; owns boundaries and contracts.

Workflow-graph affinity. Create

Constituent personas (7).

  • The Architect — BC (Blueprint Crafter)
  • The CI/CD Architect — PBD (Pipeline Builder)
  • The Knowledge Architect — ROE (RAI Ontology Engineer)
  • Interoperability Architect — FIS (FHIR Integration Specialist)
  • Evidence Architect — CTR (Clinical Trial Researcher)
  • Imaging Interop Architect — CIE (Clinical Imaging Engineer)
  • Capital Relief Architect — RTS (Reinsurance Treaty Structurer)

Builder

Description. Turns approved designs into running software; application- and feature-level construction.

Workflow-graph affinity. Build

Constituent personas (3).

  • The Application Builder — AMK (App Maker)
  • The Ensemble Builder — GBT (Gradient Boosted Trees Specialist)
  • The Bridge Builder — EBO (Event Bridge Orchestrator)

Crafter

Description. Produces artisanal artifacts — queries, metrics, narratives — with high care for style and idiom.

Workflow-graph affinity. Ops

Constituent personas (2).

  • The Requirements Crafter — JUS (User Stories Specialist)
  • The Metrics Crafter — SMC (SAFe Metrics Crafter)

Designer

Description. Shapes the expressive surface of systems — UX, visual, presentational.

Workflow-graph affinity. Create

Constituent personas (2).

  • The Model Designer — MAR (Model Architect)
  • Flexibility Marketplace Designer — DRP (Demand Response Planner)

Engineer

Description. Applies engineering discipline to a named subsystem (CI/CD, infrastructure, protocols).

Workflow-graph affinity. Build

Constituent personas (4).

  • The Feature Engineer — FAR (Feature Architect)
  • Zero-Trust Identity Engineer — DIA (Digital Identity Architect)
  • SaMD Lifecycle Engineer — MDS (Medical Device Software Engineer)
  • Privacy Engineer — GCA2 (GDPR Compliance Architect)

Integrator

Description. Wires together components that were not originally designed to meet.

Workflow-graph affinity. Build

Constituent personas (2).

  • The Integrator — DGS (Data Governance Specialist)
  • Inverter-Based Resource Integrator — RES (Renewable Energy Integrator)

Modeler

Description. Builds mathematical or ML models; separate from Analyst in that Modelers ship estimators.

Workflow-graph affinity. Create

Constituent personas (2).

  • The Modeler — OA (Ontology Architect)
  • Second-Line Model Inquisitor — MRV (Model Risk Validator)

Operator

Description. Runs systems in production; on-call, dashboards, runbooks.

Workflow-graph affinity. Ops

Constituent personas (4).

  • The Operator — RB (Runbook Crafter)
  • The Infrastructure Operator — DVE (DevOps Engineer)
  • The Elevator Operator — KGSE (Knowledge Graph Serializer Elevator)
  • The Switchboard Operator — LAR (Lane-Router Architect)

Optimizer

Description. Improves a chosen objective — latency, cost, query plan, consumer experience.

Workflow-graph affinity. Create

Constituent personas (4).

  • The Query Optimizer — SQC (SQL Query Crafter)
  • The Optimizer — EIE (Edge Inference Engineer), PTN (Performance Tuner)
  • The Reward Optimizer — QLS (Q-Learning Specialist)

Family: Investigators & Archaeologists

Analyst

Description. Extracts patterns from signals; distinct from Scientist in that Analysts publish interpretation, not new theory.

Workflow-graph affinity. Find

Constituent personas (3).

  • The Analyst — IPEA (IP Evaluation Analyst (Governance))
  • The Portfolio Analyst — PPA (Patent Portfolio Assessor)
  • Banking-Book Rate Sensitivity Analyst — IRR (Interest Rate Risk Modeler)

Archaeologist

Description. Reconstructs the past — ADRs, git history, legacy schemas — and re-cites forgotten rationale.

Workflow-graph affinity. Find

Constituent personas (3).

  • The Archaeologist — DAR (Decision Archaeologist)
  • The Data Archaeologist — NCA (NanoCube Analyst)
  • Clause Archaeologist — CAZ (Contract Analyzer)

Investigator

Description. Investigates failures, incidents, and anomalies; publishes root-cause findings.

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (4).

  • The Investigator — RC (Research Crafter)
  • The Dependency Detective — JDA2 (JV Dependency Auditor)
  • The Scientific Investigator — HEX (Hypothesis Explorer)
  • Financial Crime Investigator — AML (AML Specialist)

Scout

Description. Discovers upstream patterns, emerging practices, and drift signals before they consolidate.

Workflow-graph affinity. Find

Constituent personas (1).

  • The Scout — PHV (Pattern Harvester)

Tracer

Description. Follows claim, artifact, or event chains across the ecosystem.

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (1).

  • The Tracer — TS (Traceability Specialist)

Family: Translators & Ambassadors

Ambassador

Description. Carries intent across organizational or project boundaries; pairs well with handoff protocols.

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (2).

  • The Bridge Diplomat — IHL (Innovation Handoff Liaison)
  • The Ambassador — RHL (Research Handoff Liaison)

Cartographer

Description. Maps territory — claims, relationships, vocabularies — so others can navigate it.

Workflow-graph affinity. Find

Constituent personas (4).

  • The Cartographer — IA (Information Architect)
  • The Claim Cartographer — PCT (Patent Claim Tracer)
  • Grid Topology Cartographer — GMM (Grid Model Manager)
  • Interchange Schema Cartographer — NIE (NIEM Information Exchange Architect)

Classifier

Description. Assigns canonical labels from a controlled vocabulary (Zachman cells, risk categories, taxonomies).

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (3).

  • The Classifier — PTE (Privacy Taxonomy Engineer), ZCA (Zachman Classifier Agent)
  • The Binary Classifier — LRS (Logistic Regression Specialist)

Federator

Description. Resolves entities and relationships across project boundaries.

Workflow-graph affinity. Orchestration

Constituent personas (1).

  • The Federator — STC (Solution Train Coordinator)

Reconciler

Description. Resolves divergence across parallel representations (doc layers, ledgers, dialects).

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (1).

  • The Reconciler — TLDR (Three-Layer Doc Reconciler)

Translator

Description. Bridges two dialects or two frameworks that refuse to reconcile natively. Includes the human-oversight QA side of LLM-drafted locale translation (EU AI Act Article 14).

Workflow-graph affinity. Orchestration

Constituent personas (5).

  • The Translator — EC (Executive Communicator), SFBI (SAFe-FCC Bridge Interpreter)
  • Variant Interpreter — GMR (Genomic Medicine Researcher)
  • Privacy Risk Translator — LDPA (Legal Data Privacy Analyst)
  • The Reviewer (locale-QA variant) — IHR (i18n Human Reviewer)

Weaver

Description. Binds together stakeholders or ecosystems into durable partnerships.

Workflow-graph affinity. Orchestration

Constituent personas (2).

  • The Weaver — DPO (Dependency Orchestrator)
  • The Alliance Weaver — PCO (Partnership Coordinator)

Family: Orchestrators & Planners

Editor

Description. Revises text for clarity, consistency, and accuracy against an editorial standard. Extends naturally to diagram-as-code review (convention compliance, render-preview discipline).

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (2).

  • The Editor — DQR (Docs Quality Reviewer)
  • The Critic — MDC (Mermaid Diagram Critic)

Orchestrator

Description. Coordinates multiple agents or workflows to achieve a higher-level outcome.

Workflow-graph affinity. Orchestration

Constituent personas (5).

  • The Research Director — RCHM (Research Crafter Champion)
  • The Blueprint Director — BCHM (Blueprint Crafter Champion)
  • The Experience Director — UGCH (User Guide Crafter Champion)
  • The Operations Director — RBCH (Runbook Crafter Champion)
  • The Flow Director — POR (Pipeline Orchestrator)

Planner

Description. Decomposes strategy into executable steps; owns backlogs, PI plans, roadmaps.

Workflow-graph affinity. Create

Constituent personas (1).

  • The Planner — CS (Content Strategist)

Family: Storytellers & Guides

Guide

Description. Leads new contributors or users through unfamiliar terrain; owns the onboarding surface.

Workflow-graph affinity. Find

Constituent personas (1).

  • The Guide — UG (User Guide Crafter)

Storyteller

Description. Narrates system state or history so humans can reason about it.

Workflow-graph affinity. Critique

Constituent personas (3).

  • The Storyteller — IRE (Insight Reporter)
  • The Visual Storyteller — DVA (D3 Visualization Architect)
  • Clinical Data Storyteller — CDA (Clinical Data Analyst)

Family: Scientists

Scientist

Description. Generates new theory or research output; publishes methodology and experimental designs.

Workflow-graph affinity. Find

Constituent personas (1).

  • Index Calibration Scientist — PCR (Parametric & Climate Risk Designer)

Family: Specialists (catch-all)

Specialist

Description. Deeply-scoped roles that do not fit the other canonical archetypes — e.g., Notebook Governor, Script Artisan, Cluster Finder, Tool Forger. Use sparingly when none of the 36 other archetypes fit.

Workflow-graph affinity. Varies

Constituent personas (58).

  • The Notebook Governor — NCC (Notebook Collaboration Coach)
  • The Data Transformer — TAL (Transformation Alchemist)
  • The System Connector — ISP (Integration Specialist)
  • The Script Artisan — ASC (Automation Scripter)
  • The Interface Narrator — ADS (API Documentation Specialist)
  • The Fact-Checker — AMS (Anti-fact Mitigation Specialist)
  • The Indexer — CIA (Catalog Indexer Architect)
  • The Visualizer — UMC (UI Mockup Crafter)
  • The Taxonomist — STE (Semantic Taxonomy Engineer)
  • The Constitution-Maker — CGA (Community Governance Architect)
  • The IP Strategist — IEA (IP Evaluation Analyst)
  • The Connector — KB (Knowledge Broker)
  • The Transformer — SDE (Semantic Data Engineer)
  • The Librarian — LMC (Local Model Curator)
  • The Aggregator — FC (Federation Coordinator)
  • The Data Hunter — DSS (Data Sourcing Specialist)
  • The Data Explorer — ENA (EDA Navigator)
  • The Hypothesis Tester — ESC (Experiment Scientist)
  • The Deployment Manager — IOR (Inference Orchestrator)
  • The Explainer — IAN (Interpretability Analyst)
  • The Deep Learner — NNS (Neural Network Specialist)
  • The Forest Ranger — RFS (Random Forest Specialist)
  • The Anomaly Detector — IFS (Isolation Forest Specialist)
  • The Cluster Finder — DBS (DBSCAN Specialist)
  • The Similarity Learner — SNS (Siamese Neural Network Specialist)
  • The Pattern Grouper — CLS (Clustering Specialist)
  • The Recommender — CFS (Collaborative Filtering Specialist)
  • The Trend Predictor — FAS (Forecasting Analyst)
  • The Replicator — RSN (Reproducibility Sentinel)
  • The Evaluator — PIA (Privacy Impact Assessor)
  • The Protocol Craftsman — ASD (A2A Skill Designer)
  • The Tool Forger — MTA (MCP Tool Architect)
  • The Stream Conductor — WSM (WebSocket Stream Manager)
  • The Documentation Automator — AMG (AGENTS.md Generator)
  • The Illuminator — XAE (Explainability Engineer)
  • The Regulator — ACO (AI Compliance Officer)
  • The Conductor — CO (Collaboration Orchestrator)
  • The Synchronizer — RS (Roadmap Synchronizer)
  • The Publisher — SCP (Stakeholder Content Publisher)
  • The Dashboard Conductor — IDD (Interactive Dashboard Designer)
  • The Stream Visualizer — RER (Real-time Event Renderer)
  • Electrochemical Asset Dispatcher — BSO (Battery Storage Optimizer)
  • Prudential Risk Quant — FRA (Financial Risk Analyst)
  • Controls Inquisitor — SCA (SOX Compliance Auditor)
  • Derivatives Exposure Quant — CCR (Counterparty Credit Risk Analyst)
  • Sustainable Finance Disclosure Specialist — ESG (ESG Investment Analyst)
  • Institutional Digital Asset Governor — DFI (Digital Asset and DeFi Strategist)
  • Public Data Librarian — ODS (Open Data Steward)
  • Authorization Shepherd — FRP (FedRAMP Compliance Lead)
  • Civic Service Ethnographer — CSR (Civic Service Researcher)
  • Regulatory Shepherd — HCO (HIPAA Compliance Officer)
  • Virtual Care UX Lead — TRX (Telemedicine Experience Designer)
  • Value-Based Care Strategist — PHM (Population Health Manager)
  • Biomarker Strategist — PMS (Precision Medicine Strategist)
  • Risk Selection Tactician — IUW (Insurance Underwriter Analyst)
  • Reserving Diagnostician — ACT (Actuarial Reserving Specialist)
  • Claims Anomaly Sleuth — CFD (Claims Fraud Detection Analyst)
  • Regulatory Navigator — RAL (Regulatory Affairs Liaison)

Archetype interaction edges (top 25)

Rolling up the 425-entry cross-reference matrix to the canonical-archetype level gives us the archetype-to-archetype interaction map. The 25 busiest edges are shown below; the full edge inventory is regenerated on every release by scripts/generate_archetype_interaction_atlas.py.

# Source archetype Target archetype Edge count
1 Specialist Specialist 32
2 Specialist Guardian 15
3 Specialist Architect 14
4 Specialist Steward 9
5 Steward Specialist 9
6 Specialist Auditor 8
7 Specialist Investigator 7
8 Specialist Integrator 7
9 Architect Specialist 6
10 Guardian Specialist 6
11 Specialist Translator 5
12 Specialist Storyteller 5
13 Steward Guardian 5
14 Translator Specialist 4
15 Orchestrator Specialist 4
16 Orchestrator Orchestrator 4
17 Specialist Cartographer 4
18 Specialist Engineer 4
19 Engineer Specialist 4
20 Architect Architect 4
21 Investigator Guardian 3
22 Specialist Guide 3
23 Archaeologist Investigator 3
24 Specialist Weaver 3
25 Investigator Auditor 3

Cross-archetype patterns

Several recurring hand-off chains emerge from the edge inventory. These are the patterns that should guide scenario authoring and workflow-graph design.

Pattern 1 — Scout → Classifier → Sentinel

A new concept enters FCC through a Scout archetype (e.g. PHV Pattern Harvester), is assigned canonical labels by a Classifier (e.g. ZCA Zachman Classifier Agent), then guarded against future drift by a Sentinel (e.g. VDS Vocabulary Drift Sentinel). This is the absorption chain that governs the Find phase of the extended workflow graph.

Pattern 2 — Architect → Builder → Operator → Keeper

A subsystem moves from design (Architect), through implementation (Builder), into production (Operator), and finally to long-term observability (Keeper). For v1.5.3 the canonical example is LAR (Lane-Router Architect) → feature teams → OTO (OpenTelemetry Orchestrator) — see LAR.md and OTO.md.

Pattern 3 — Archaeologist → Curator → Storyteller

When historical context needs to be revived, an Archaeologist (e.g. DAR Decision Archaeologist) reconstructs rationale, a Curator (e.g. OSCU Open-Science Curator) re-publishes against current standards, and a Storyteller packages the result for non-expert audiences. This is the narrative-repair chain.

Pattern 4 — Translator ↔ Reconciler ↔ Classifier

Multi-layer systems (SAFe ↔ FCC, docs-tree layers, dialects) require bidirectional work. A Translator (SFBI) converts vocabulary, a Reconciler (TLDR) resolves divergence between layers, and a Classifier assigns canonical categories to whatever emerges. This is the layer-reconciliation chain.

Pattern 5 — Ambassador → Guardian → Tracer

Hand-off across project boundaries routes through an Ambassador (e.g. RHL Research Handoff Liaison, IHL Innovation Handoff Liaison), gets gated by a Guardian (privacy or IP), and is followed across its downstream journey by a Tracer (e.g. PCT Patent Claim Tracer). This is the cross-project handoff chain.

Pattern 6 — Analyst ↔ Modeler ↔ Validator

Data work oscillates between analytical investigation (Analyst), model construction (Modeler), and rule-based validation (Validator). This is the ml-lifecycle chain and recurs across the 11 ml_models, 9 ml_lifecycle, and 7 data_engineering personas.

Pattern 7 — Curator → Auditor → Editor (ecosystem-hygiene chain, v1.7.0)

Ecosystem-doc freshness routes through a Curator (EDM Ecosystem Docs Maintainer) who owns the three authoritative docs/ecosystem/ artifacts, an Auditor (LPA Local-Path Auditor, Inspector variant) who verifies every codename-decoder local-path cell resolves on the reference workstation, and an Editor (MDC Mermaid Diagram Critic) who reviews every mermaid diagram for RC convention compliance and render-preview-aware clarity. This is the ecosystem-hygiene chain introduced by Pool D in v1.7.0; it operates alongside the Translator↔Reconciler↔Classifier layer-reconciliation chain and feeds findings into FA (Forensic Auditor) during forensic sweeps.

Pattern 8 — Translator → Reviewer → Steward (i18n + refresh chain, v1.7.0)

Two new stewardship flows anchor the v1.7.0 foundation band:

  • i18n flow: LLM-drafted FR/ES/DE translations land in a Translator-family Reviewer (IHR i18n Human Reviewer), who gates glossary-preservation, register, and cultural nuance under EU AI Act Article 14 human-oversight obligations, then hands off to OSCU for reproducibility manifests.
  • Real-corpus refresh flow: A Steward (RCRS Real-Corpus Refresh Steward) owns the Pillar-A refresh cadence (WHO / Bloomberg / IEC / NAICS), requires owner approval for every seed-data download, records SHA-256 integrity, and hands refreshed corpora to LTAS (Long-Term Archive Steward) for POLARIS archive ingestion.

Escalation patterns

When a conflict cannot be resolved in a single phase, the escalation direction is toward Champions. A base persona escalates to its Champion (e.g. RC → RCHM), and the Champion orchestrates a resolution across the team listed in its orchestrates field. See evolution-pathways.md for the full champion-promotion ladder.

Workflow-graph → archetype mapping

FCC ships 7 workflow graphs (base, extended, complete, extended_84, plus 2 solution-level EAIFC graphs and the FCC ops graph). Mapping dominant archetypes to each graph produces the table below. The mapping is read-able as: in this graph, expect these archetypes to dominate the named phases.

Workflow graph Find archetypes Create archetypes Build archetypes Critique archetypes Ops archetypes
Base (5-node) Scout, Cartographer Architect, Designer Builder Auditor, Validator —
Extended (20-node) Scout, Analyst, Archaeologist Architect, Modeler, Planner Builder, Engineer, Integrator Auditor, Validator, Sentinel, Classifier Operator
Complete (24-node) Scout, Cartographer, Analyst Architect, Designer, Optimizer Builder, Engineer, Crafter Auditor, Classifier, Tracer, Sentinel Operator, Keeper
Extended_84 (55-node) Scout, Cartographer, Archaeologist, Analyst, Scientist Architect, Designer, Planner, Modeler, Optimizer, Crafter Builder, Engineer, Integrator, Crafter Auditor, Classifier, Validator, Sentinel, Tracer, Reconciler, Curator, Editor, Investigator, Advocate Operator, Keeper, Steward
EAIFC-Solution Scout, Ambassador Architect, Weaver Builder, Integrator Auditor, Guardian Operator
EAIFC-Program Cartographer, Planner Orchestrator, Architect Builder Classifier, Validator Champion
FCC Ops — Planner — Auditor, Validator, Reconciler Operator, Keeper, Steward, Crafter

Translator, Ambassador, Champion, Orchestrator, Federator, and Weaver archetypes are Orchestration-phase archetypes — they appear across all seven graphs as the connective tissue between Find/Create/Build/Critique/Ops, not as dominant phase occupants.

Archetype → FCC phase distribution

A statistical counter-view of the above mapping. Numbers are persona-counts across all 168 personas (v1.7.0; the v1.5.3 table is preserved below, with the five v1.7.0 additions folded into Curator [+1], Auditor [+1], Steward [+1], Editor [+1], Translator [+1]).

Archetype Find Create Build Critique Ops Orchestration All (none)
Advocate 1 3 – 1 – – 1 –
Ambassador – – – 2 – – – –
Analyst 1 – – 1 – – – 1
Archaeologist 2 – – – – – – 1
Architect – 2 1 – – – – 4
Auditor – – – 2 – – – 1
Builder – – 2 – 1 – – –
Cartographer 1 – – 1 – – – 2
Champion – – – 1 – – – –
Classifier – 1 1 1 – – – –
Crafter – 1 – – 1 – – –
Curator 1 – – 1 – – – –
Designer – 1 – – – – – 1
Editor – – – 1 – – – –
Engineer – 1 – – – – – 3
Federator – – – – – 1 – –
Guardian – – – 4 1 – – 1
Guide – 1 – – – – – –
Integrator – – – – – – 1 1
Investigator 2 – – 1 – – – 1
Keeper – – – – 3 – – –
Modeler 1 – – – – – – 1
Operator 1 1 1 – 1 – – –
Optimizer – – 4 – – – – –
Orchestrator – – – – 1 4 – –
Planner 1 – – – – – – –
Reconciler – – – 1 – – – –
Scientist – – – – – – – 1
Scout 1 – – – – – – –
Sentinel – – – 1 – – 1 2
Specialist 9 12 12 4 2 – 2 17
Steward 1 – 1 – – – – 5
Storyteller – 1 – 1 – – – 1
Tracer – – – – – – 1 –
Translator – 1 – – – 1 – 2
Validator – – – 2 – – – –
Weaver 1 – – – 1 – – –

How to assign an archetype to a new persona

When proposing a new persona, follow this rubric. Each step narrows the candidate archetype.

Step 1 — Pick the family

Answer the dominant question about the proposed persona:

  • Does it protect or curate something? → Shepherds & Stewards
  • Does it design or construct? → Architects & Builders
  • Does it investigate the past or surface the unknown? → Investigators & Archaeologists
  • Does it bridge two worlds or reconcile divergent artefacts? → Translators & Ambassadors
  • Does it coordinate multiple parties or decompose a plan? → Orchestrators & Planners
  • Does it narrate or onboard humans? → Storytellers & Guides
  • Does it generate new theory or novel methodology? → Scientists
  • None of the above fit? → Specialists

Step 2 — Pick the canonical archetype within the family

Scan the per-archetype reference above and match on the action verb the persona performs:

Action verb Canonical archetype
stewards, maintains, archives Steward, Archivist
guards, protects Guardian
watches against drift or regression Sentinel
audits, inspects Auditor, Validator
classifies, labels, tags Classifier
designs, architects Architect, Designer
builds, wires, integrates Builder, Engineer, Integrator
optimizes, tunes Optimizer
operates, runs production Operator
investigates, debugs, roots out Investigator, Archaeologist
translates, interprets, reconciles Translator, Reconciler
liaises, bridges, hands off Ambassador
maps, charts, traces Cartographer, Tracer
orchestrates, coordinates Orchestrator, Champion
plans, sequences Planner
writes, narrates, reports Storyteller, Editor
guides, onboards Guide
advocates for a constituency Advocate

Step 3 — Decide whether to coin a new archetype string

If the persona fits one of the 36 non-Specialist canonical archetypes, use that archetype and pick a raw archetype string consistent with existing members (e.g. The Feature Architect fits Architect; The Ontology Architect fits Architect). Avoid inventing one-off specialist strings unless the role is genuinely singular.

If the persona truly does not fit any of the 36, assign archetype family Specialists (catch-all) and coin a descriptive raw archetype string. File a follow-up note in the release PR explaining the decision; repeated uses of the same new string across releases are a signal to promote it to a 38th canonical archetype.

Step 4 — Verify with the auto-generated atlas

Run the regenerator and confirm the new persona appears in the expected family:

python scripts/generate_archetype_interaction_atlas.py --write
grep -A1 "^#### YOUR_PERSONA_ID" docs/personas/archetype-interaction-atlas.md

The Archetype family line should match your Step 1 decision. If it does not, revise the archetype: string so the classifier picks up the right family keyword.

See also

Regenerate: the auto-generated docs rerun on every release. This atlas is hand-curated — update the 37-archetype list here when a new canonical archetype crosses the two-persona promotion threshold.