Patterns organized by how they work together, not just what they’re about.
Purpose: The category index (README.md) organizes patterns by topic. This index organizes them by family — patterns that reinforce each other and work best when applied together.
Usage: When starting work, identify which families apply. Apply patterns in family units, not individually.
Proven pattern groups with documented co-occurrence and reinforcing effects.
Patterns: 045, 046, 047, 049 Lead Pattern: Pattern-045: Green Tests, Red User ← Start here (diagnostic) Health: Excellent Use when: Multi-phase work, closing issues, preventing premature completion
| Pattern | Role in Family |
|---|---|
| 045: Green Tests, Red User | Diagnoses the gap (tests pass, users fail) |
| 046: Beads Completion Discipline | Enforces 100% completion criteria |
| 047: Time Lord Alert | Enables pause when uncertain |
| 049: Audit Cascade | Verifies at every phase boundary |
Quick reference: 045 diagnoses → 046 enforces → 047 enables pause → 049 audits
Patterns: 006, 041, 042, 043, 060 Lead Pattern: Pattern-006: Verification-First ← Start here (foundation) Health: Excellent Use when: Bug fixing, incident response, security investigation, any problem-solving
| Pattern | Role in Family |
|---|---|
| 006: Verification-First | Foundation — verify before acting |
| 042: Investigation-Only Protocol | Investigate without fixing (restraint) |
| 060: Cascade Investigation | Audit category when fixing (breadth) |
| 041: Systematic Fix Planning | Plan multi-issue resolution |
| 043: Defense-in-Depth Prevention | Prevent recurrence after fix |
Quick reference: 006 verifies → 042 investigates → 060 cascades → 041 plans → 043 prevents
Patterns: 050, 051, 052, 053, 054, 055, 056, 057, 058 Lead Pattern: Pattern-050: Context Dataclass Pair ← Start here (structural foundation) Health: Strong Use when: New feature development, UX work, intent classification
| Pattern | Role in Family |
|---|---|
| 050: Context Dataclass Pair | Structural foundation for grammar awareness |
| 051: Parallel Place Gathering | Synthesize from multiple integrations |
| 052: Personality Bridge | Transform data into Piper’s voice |
| 053: Warmth Calibration | Calibrate emotional tone |
| 054: Honest Failure with Suggestion | Handle failures gracefully |
| 055: Multi-Intent Decomposition | Handle multiple intents |
| 056: Consciousness Attribute Layering | Layer consciousness through processing |
| 057: Grammar-Driven Classification | Use grammar for intent routing |
| 058: Ownership Graph Navigation | Navigate object relationships |
Quick reference: Apply all 9 for “Conscious” rating on features. Features adopting partial set achieve lower ratings.
Pattern groups with initial evidence but not yet proven across multiple contexts.
Patterns: 010, 021, 029, 037, 059 Lead Pattern: Pattern-059: Leadership Caucus ← Start here for decisions; Pattern-029 for execution Health: Medium Use when: Cross-domain decisions, parallel agent work, multi-advisor alignment
| Pattern | Role in Family |
|---|---|
| 059: Leadership Caucus | Sync multi-advisor alignment (before work) |
| 029: Multi-Agent Coordination | Technical agent coordination (during work) |
| 010: Cross-Validation Protocol | Agents verify each other’s outputs |
| 021: Development Session Management | Session handoffs and continuity |
| 037: Cross-Context Validation | Validate concepts across contexts |
Quick reference: 059 decides → 029 executes → 010 validates. Use 021 for session continuity, 037 for concept validation.
Note: Pattern-059 (leadership alignment) and Pattern-029 (technical execution) are complementary, not competing. See differentiation sections in each pattern.
Patterns: 036, 037, 038, 039 Lead Pattern: Pattern-036: Signal Convergence ← Start here (meta-pattern) Health: Experimental Use when: System analysis, pattern detection, feature prioritization
| Pattern | Role in Family |
|---|---|
| 036: Signal Convergence | Detect breakthroughs via multi-analyzer signals |
| 037: Cross-Context Validation | Validate concepts across contexts |
| 038: Temporal Clustering | Analyze coordination via time grouping |
| 039: Feature Prioritization Scorecard | Quantified feature prioritization |
Quick reference: Second-order methodology — patterns about detecting patterns. Use when analyzing system behavior or prioritizing work.
Patterns not yet assigned to a family. May join existing families or form new ones.
Patterns: 001-008, 013-017, 023, 025, 026, 034, 035, 040, 048 Health: Unknown — HEALTH CHECK PENDING (Lead Dev, before Feb 17)
Core system architecture, data access, and infrastructure patterns. These may be “invisible through success” (Meta-Pattern 3) or drifting. The Feb 17 code archaeology will determine:
Pending: Do not split into sub-families until health check results are available.
Patterns: 018, 027, 030, 031, 033, 035, 044
Plugin architecture and external system integration. Includes MCP adapter patterns and plugin interface standards.
Patterns: 012, 019, 020, 022, 028, 032
LLM integration, spatial intelligence, and intent classification infrastructure.
Patterns: 009, 011, 024
Process and methodology patterns that don’t naturally cluster with others:
Note which families apply to your work:
**Active pattern families this session**: [Completion Theater, Investigation]
Include a checklist:
## Applicable Pattern Families
- [ ] Completion Theater (multi-phase work)
- [ ] Investigation (bug-related work)
- [ ] Grammar Application (feature development)
- [ ] Multi-Agent Coordination (cross-domain decisions)
Created: February 5, 2026 Per CIO approval (memo-cio-to-docs-deliverables-approved-2026-02-05) Related: README.md (category index), META-PATTERNS.md (meta-patterns)