Development cycle by role

The same lifecycle looks different depending on where you sit. Use this section to see what matters to you, when you engage, and which guides and SOPs apply.

Pick your role

Role	You care most about…	Start here
Developer	Spec-driven implementation, AI tools, PR quality	Developer perspective →
DevOps / SRE	CI/CD, deploy safety, observability, incidents	DevOps perspective →
QA / Quality lead	Automated verification, guardrails, monitoring-as-QA	QA perspective →
Product manager / PO	Intake, acceptance criteria, staging sign-off	Product perspective →
Scrum master	Flow, ceremonies, blockers, DoD	Scrum Master perspective →
Program manager	Cross-team dependencies, milestones, risk	Program Manager perspective →
Team lead / EM	Capacity, review throughput, escalations	Team Lead perspective →
Architect	ADRs, contracts, tiers, ARB	Architect perspective →
Security	Data classification, scans, AI policy, exceptions	Security perspective →

Phase × role matrix

Quick map of primary involvement (● = accountable · ○ = consulted · — = informed)

Phase	Dev	DevOps	QA	PM/PO	Scrum	Program	TL/EM	Arch	Sec
Plan	○	○	○	●	○	●	○	○	○
Define	○	○	○	●	○	○	○	●	○
Build	●	○	○	—	○	○	○	○	○
Verify	●	○	●	—	○	—	○	○	○
Release	○	●	○	●	○	○	●	○	○
Operate	○	●	○	—	○	○	○	○	○
Learn	●	●	●	○	○	●	●	●	○

Legend: ● primary owner for that phase in this model · ○ active participant · — kept informed

Shared gates (all roles)

Gate	Phase	Human approvers
G0 Intake	Plan	PO
G1 Define	Define	ARCH + PO
G2 Build	Verify	Reviewer + CI
G3 Release	Release	SRE (T1: + ARCH); PO staging
G4 Operate	Operate	SRE on-call
G5 Learn	Learn	SRE + DEV (+ ARCH if systemic)

Details: Governance · Process overview

How to use this section

1. Open your role page for a phase-by-phase checklist and diagram
2. Follow links into decision guides for tool choices (pros/cons/pitfalls)
3. Use SOPs as reference playbooks to adapt in your organization

This is a reference lens, not a RACI you must copy — adjust for your org size and compliance tier.