Who checks the work?
Give reviewers the context and time to judge the result. Agree which checks are needed before the work is used or shared.
Role guides
Roles in AI-assisted work
Use these guides to discuss what people do, check and own as your team works with AI agents.
HELM 1.0.1 · Updated
Start with the work
When an agent takes on part of a task, review the responsibilities around it. Who provides the context? Who checks the result? Who decides whether it is ready to use?
The roles below are starting points for that conversation. Adapt the responsibilities to your team’s work, workload and risk. Related responsibilities may sit with the same person.
The six principles explain HELM’s approach. Use the Practitioner Guide for day-to-day work and the Leadership Guidefor team decisions and learning.
Three questions for your team
Choose a recent task and discuss the checks, expertise and results it needed.
Where is expertise needed?
A task may cross several parts of the product. Identify who can judge each part and involve them when a change needs their skills.
Did the result help?
Look at the effect on users alongside delivery volume, quality and effort. More output alone does not show that work improved.
Responsibilities
How the role guides connect
| Role guide | Related HELM responsibilities | Focus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software EngineerBackend Engineer, Full-Stack Engineer | Product Engineer | Build, review and maintain software with AI agents | |
| Staff / Principal EngineerPrincipal Engineer, Solutions Architect | AI Architect | Set technical direction and clear boundaries for agent-assisted work | |
| Engineering ManagerDevelopment Manager, Team Lead | Engineering Manager | Support team learning and review the results of agent-assisted work | |
| SRE / DevOps EngineerDevOps Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer | AI Reliability Engineer | Monitor agent behavior, cost and recovery alongside service reliability | |
| QA Engineer / SDETSDET, QA Lead, Test Engineer | QA Engineer + Evaluation Lead | Check agent output and the product people use | |
| Platform / Infrastructure EngineerInfrastructure Engineer, DevOps Engineer | Platform Engineer | Provide dependable shared tools for agent-assisted work | |
| Product ManagerProduct Owner, Business Analyst | Product Manager | Make goals clear and help your team build what users need | |
| Product DesignerUI Designer, Product Designer, Interaction Designer | Product Designer | Design clear experiences and review agent-generated interfaces |
Shared skills
Five skills to practice together
Use the same five competencies across roles. The examples and practice activities change with the work.
For simple explanations and everyday examples, explore shared skills for working with AI.
Judgment
Choose a useful outcome and the simplest approach. Decide what to delegate and when a person needs to step in.
Communication
Give people and agents the goal, context, constraints and a clear idea of a good result.
Evaluation
Check AI-assisted work against facts and requirements. Make uncertainty visible.
Ownership
Take responsibility for the work you use or share. Respect decision boundaries and follow through on problems.
Learning
Use feedback to improve, practice the skills you need to check agent work, and share useful lessons.
Role guides
Explore each role
Engineering
Software Engineer
Related responsibilities: Product Engineer in HELM
Build, review and maintain software with AI agents
Staff / Principal Engineer
Related responsibilities: AI Architect in HELM
Set technical direction and clear boundaries for agent-assisted work
Engineering Manager
Role guide in HELM
Support team learning and review the results of agent-assisted work
SRE / DevOps Engineer
Related responsibilities: AI Reliability Engineer in HELM
Monitor agent behavior, cost and recovery alongside service reliability
Platform / Infrastructure Engineer
Related responsibilities: Platform Engineer in HELM
Provide dependable shared tools for agent-assisted work
Product
QA Engineer / SDET
Related responsibilities: QA Engineer + Evaluation Lead in HELM
Check agent output and the product people use
Product Manager
Role guide in HELM
Make goals clear and help your team build what users need
Product Designer
Role guide in HELM
Design clear experiences and review agent-generated interfaces