microsoft/team-charters

Team Charters

Defines the mission, ownership, core principles, quality bar, and (for most roles) communication rules for each role in a multi-agent coding team. Each charter is a reference file under references/.

Available Roles

| Role | Mission | Charter | |---|---|---| | architect | Own the technical blueprint: how the system is built, how it should be rebuilt, whether the implementation follows the design, and build verification (smoke test) | references/architect.md | | backend | Own the server-side implementation: build the logic that powers the product | references/backend.md | | dba | Own the data layer: make sure data is modeled correctly, stored safely, and migrates reliably | references/dba.md | | devops | Own CI/CD pipelines, deployment automation, and operational infrastructure | references/devops.md | | frontend | Own the client-side implementation: build what the user sees and interacts with | references/frontend.md | | pm | Own the product definition: what features exist, what needs to be built, and whether the delivered result matches | references/pm.md | | security | Audit and verify security posture — find vulnerabilities and escalate, do NOT fix them | references/security.md | | teamlead | Own the execution blueprint and quality gates: constitution, implementation plans, testing strategies, task breakdowns, and gate verdicts | references/teamlead.md | | tester | Own runtime-validation execution: verify that the system works correctly by executing the approved testing strategy through integration and end-to-end testing | references/tester.md | | ux | Own user experience design: how users interact with the system, what they see, and how information is organized | references/ux.md |

Usage

To look up a specific role's charter, read references/<role>.md. Each charter contains:

1. Mission — one-line purpose statement
2. You Own — ownership scope for the role
3. Core Principle — boundary constraints and what the role must NOT do
4. Quality Bar — minimum standards the role must meet
5. Communication (most roles) — when and whom to notify or escalate to

Key Design Principles

• WHAT vs HOW: PM defines WHAT (features, acceptance criteria). Architect defines HOW (design, patterns, contracts).
• Validation planning vs validation execution: teamlead owns testing strategy and conformance review; tester owns runtime-validation execution only.
• Read-only roles: PM, architect, security, ux produce documentation only — no source code. Teamlead focuses on planning and quality gates.
• Tester never modifies production code — escalates bugs to the responsible role.
• Ownership boundaries are strict — if work crosses into another role's territory, delegate via notify/escalate.