Quick Start Guide

This guide will help you get started with Persona-Driven Development using Persona Kit in just a few minutes.

🎯 The 5-Step Workflow

Persona Kit introduces a structured 5-step workflow for effective development:

1. 📋 Constitution - Define project principles and values
2. 🎭 Personas - Create specialized AI roles and behaviors
3. 🔄 Patterns - Establish reusable interaction patterns
4. ⚡ Workflows - Define structured development processes
5. 🚀 Implement - Execute with consistency and quality

🚀 Quick Start

Step 1: Install Persona Kit

# Install Persona Kit (choose one method)

# Install using uv (recommended)
uv pip install git+https://github.com/github/persona-kit.git

Step 2: Initialize Your Project

# Navigate to your project directory
cd /path/to/your/project

# Initialize Persona Kit
persona-kit init

This creates the .persona-kit/ directory structure and configuration files.

Step 3: Create Your Development Constitution

The constitution defines your project's core principles and values:

# Create a constitution for your project
persona-kit constitution create "web-application" --description "A modern web application with clean architecture and user-centric design"

Step 4: Set Up Your First Persona

Create specialized AI personas for different roles:

# Create a Senior Developer persona
persona-kit persona create "Senior Python Developer" \
  --role developer \
  --expertise "python,architecture,testing,performance" \
  --personality "experienced,thorough,mentor-like"

# Create a Product Manager persona
persona-kit persona create "Product Manager" \
  --role product-manager \
  --expertise "strategy,roadmap,user-experience,business-value" \
  --personality "strategic,analytical,user-focused"

# Create a QA Engineer persona
persona-kit persona create "QA Engineer" \
  --role qa-engineer \
  --expertise "testing,quality-assurance,automation,user-acceptance" \
  --personality "detail-oriented,thorough,quality-focused"

Step 5: Create a Development Workflow

Set up structured workflows for common development tasks:

# Create a feature development workflow
persona-kit workflow create "feature-development" \
  --template feature \
  --personas "Product Manager,Senior Python Developer,QA Engineer"

# Create a bug fix workflow
persona-kit workflow create "bug-fix" \
  --template bug \
  --personas "QA Engineer,Senior Python Developer"

🎨 Example: Building a Web Application

Let's walk through a complete example of building a web application:

Project Setup

# Create project directory
mkdir my-web-app
cd my-web-app

# Initialize Persona Kit
persona-kit init

# Create constitution
persona-kit constitution create "modern-web-app" \
  --description "A responsive web application with modern UX patterns" \
  --principles "mobile-first,responsive-design,accessibility,performance"

Persona Setup

# Create development team personas
persona-kit persona create "Frontend Architect" \
  --role designer \
  --expertise "react,vue,css,ux-design,accessibility" \
  --personality "creative,detail-oriented,user-advocate"

persona-kit persona create "Backend Developer" \
  --role developer \
  --expertise "python,fastapi,postgresql,api-design,security" \
  --personality "reliable,security-conscious,performance-focused"

persona-kit persona create "DevOps Engineer" \
  --role devops \
  --expertise "docker,kubernetes,ci-cd,monitoring,scalability" \
  --personality "systematic,reliable,automation-focused"

Workflow Creation

# Create feature development workflow
persona-kit workflow create "new-feature" \
  --steps "design,develop,test,deploy" \
  --personas "Frontend Architect,Backend Developer,DevOps Engineer" \
  --phases "planning,implementation,review,deployment"

Pattern Creation

Create reusable interaction patterns:

# Create API design pattern
persona-kit pattern create "api-design" \
  --type communication \
  --template "RESTful API design with OpenAPI specification" \
  --context "backend-development"

# Create testing pattern
persona-kit pattern create "comprehensive-testing" \
  --type feedback-loop \
  --template "Unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests" \
  --context "quality-assurance"

🎭 Using Personas in Development

Switch Between Personas

# Switch to a specific persona
persona-kit persona use "Senior Python Developer"

# List available personas
persona-kit persona list

# Show current persona details
persona-kit persona show

Context-Aware Development

# Start a development session with context
persona-kit workflow start "feature-development" \
  --feature "user-authentication" \
  --context "Building a secure login system with OAuth integration"

Memory and Learning

# View accumulated knowledge
persona-kit memory show --persona "Senior Python Developer"

# Export memory for sharing
persona-kit memory export --format json --output project-knowledge.json

# Import shared knowledge
persona-kit memory import --file shared-knowledge.json

🔄 Workflow Execution

Start a Workflow

# Start feature development workflow
persona-kit workflow start "feature-development"

# The workflow will guide you through:
# 1. Planning phase (Product Manager persona)
# 2. Implementation phase (Developer persona)
# 3. Review phase (QA Engineer persona)
# 4. Deployment phase (DevOps persona)

Track Progress

# Check workflow status
persona-kit workflow status

# View current phase
persona-kit workflow current-phase

# Complete current phase and move to next
persona-kit workflow complete-phase

📚 Best Practices

Persona Design

• Be specific about roles and expertise areas
• Define clear personalities that match the role
• Include relevant context and domain knowledge
• Keep personas focused on specific responsibilities

Workflow Structure

• Start simple and iterate based on experience
• Include review phases for quality assurance
• Define clear handoffs between personas
• Document decisions for future reference

Knowledge Management

• Regularly review accumulated knowledge
• Share insights across team members
• Archive outdated information
• Maintain context for better decision making

🚀 Next Steps

Now that you're up and running:

1. Installation - For detailed setup information
2. Persona-Driven Development - Deep dive into the philosophy
3. Local Development - Advanced development setup
4. Templates - Create reusable templates
5. Best Practices - Optimize your workflow

💡 Tips for Success

• Start small: Begin with 2-3 personas and one workflow
• Iterate often: Refine personas and workflows based on experience
• Document everything: Keep track of decisions and learnings
• Share knowledge: Export and share successful patterns with your team
• Stay consistent: Use the same personas and workflows across projects

Happy developing with Persona Kit! 🎭