--- title: "Agent Roles in BMad Method" description: Understanding the different agent roles in BMad Method --- BMad Method uses specialized AI agents, each with a distinct role, expertise, and personality. Understanding these roles helps you know which agent to use for each task. --- ## Core Agents Overview | Agent | Role | Primary Phase | |-------|------|---------------| | **Analyst** | Research and discovery | Phase 1 (Analysis) | | **PM** | Requirements and planning | Phase 2 (Planning) | | **Architect** | Technical design | Phase 3 (Solutioning) | | **SM** | Sprint orchestration | Phase 4 (Implementation) | | **DEV** | Code implementation | Phase 4 (Implementation) | | **TEA** | Test architecture | Phases 3-4 (Cross-phase) | | **UX Designer** | User experience | Phase 2-3 | | **Quick Flow Solo Dev** | Fast solo development | All phases (Quick Flow) | --- ## Phase 1: Analysis ### Analyst (Mary) Business analysis and research specialist. **Responsibilities:** - Brainstorming and ideation - Market, domain, and competitive research - Product brief creation - Brownfield project documentation **Key Workflows:** - `*brainstorm-project` - `*research` - `*product-brief` - `*document-project` **When to use:** Starting new projects, exploring ideas, validating market fit, documenting existing codebases. --- ## Phase 2: Planning ### PM (John) Product requirements and planning expert. **Responsibilities:** - Creating Product Requirements Documents - Defining functional and non-functional requirements - Breaking requirements into epics and stories - Validating implementation readiness **Key Workflows:** - `*create-prd` - `*create-epics-and-stories` - `*implementation-readiness` **When to use:** Defining what to build, creating PRDs, organizing work into stories. ### UX Designer (Sally) User experience and UI design specialist. **Responsibilities:** - UX specification creation - User journey mapping - Wireframe and mockup design - Design system documentation **Key Workflows:** - `*create-ux-design` - `*validate-design` **When to use:** When UX is a primary differentiator, complex user workflows, design system creation. --- ## Phase 3: Solutioning ### Architect (Winston) System architecture and technical design expert. **Responsibilities:** - System architecture design - Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) - Technical standards definition - Implementation readiness validation **Key Workflows:** - `*create-architecture` - `*implementation-readiness` **When to use:** Multi-epic projects, cross-cutting technical decisions, preventing agent conflicts. --- ## Phase 4: Implementation ### SM (Bob) Sprint planning and story preparation orchestrator. **Responsibilities:** - Sprint planning and tracking - Story preparation for development - Course correction handling - Epic retrospectives **Key Workflows:** - `*sprint-planning` - `*create-story` - `*correct-course` - `*epic-retrospective` **When to use:** Organizing work, preparing stories, tracking progress. ### DEV (Amelia) Story implementation and code review specialist. **Responsibilities:** - Story implementation with tests - Code review - Following architecture patterns - Quality assurance **Key Workflows:** - `*dev-story` - `*code-review` **When to use:** Writing code, implementing stories, reviewing quality. --- ## Cross-Phase Agents ### TEA (Murat) Test architecture and quality strategy expert. **Responsibilities:** - Test framework setup - Test design and planning - ATDD and automation - Quality gate decisions **Key Workflows:** - `*framework`, `*ci` - `*test-design`, `*atdd`, `*automate` - `*test-review`, `*trace`, `*nfr-assess` **When to use:** Setting up testing, creating test plans, quality gates. --- ## Quick Flow ### Quick Flow Solo Dev (Barry) Fast solo development without handoffs. **Responsibilities:** - Technical specification - End-to-end implementation - Code review **Key Workflows:** - `*create-tech-spec` - `*quick-dev` - `*code-review` **When to use:** Bug fixes, small features, rapid prototyping. --- ## Choosing the Right Agent | Task | Agent | |------|-------| | Brainstorming ideas | Analyst | | Market research | Analyst | | Creating PRD | PM | | Designing UX | UX Designer | | System architecture | Architect | | Preparing stories | SM | | Writing code | DEV | | Setting up tests | TEA | | Quick bug fix | Quick Flow Solo Dev | --- ## Related - [What Are Agents](./what-are-agents.md) - Foundational concepts - [Agent Reference](../../reference/agents/index.md) - Complete command reference - [Quick Start Guide](../../tutorials/getting-started/getting-started-bmadv6.md)