Actor Profile
Core principle: Every artifact references actors. If actors aren't defined, every artifact invents its own definition. Actor profiles are the shared foundation — run this skill before all others.
JTBD Forces — Why They Switch
Map four forces per actor. These explain why someone adopts or abandons a service, distinct from what they experience once using it:
| Force | Question |
|---|---|
| Push | What's broken about their current solution? |
| Pull | What about this service looks better? |
| Anxiety | What makes them hesitate? |
| Habit | What keeps them doing it the old way? |
Extend to functional, social, and emotional goals. Task completion alone misses half the switching calculus.
Context of Use
Environment, stakes, frequency, constraints. A user on a phone in a noisy shop with 30 seconds is not the same actor as one at a desk with an hour. Make these explicit.
Relationships Between Actors
Customer ↔ frontline staff ↔ back-office ↔ external partners. Map who serves whom, who depends on whom, who sets terms. One actor's constraint is often another's backstage action.
Build from Mixed Inputs
Code reveals what the system assumes about users — roles, permissions, workflows. Transcripts reveal what they actually think and struggle with. Business docs reveal intended segments. Accept all three; triangulate. Never invent quotes or emotions.
One profile per actor type. Multiple actors = multiple files in the same slice.
Confidence Discipline
Tag every claim: [confirmed] (verified in code, analytics, or direct quote), [hypothesis] (inferred from patterns), or [gap] (unknown). Segments from analytics = [confirmed]. Inferred motivations = [hypothesis]. For each hypothesis, note what would confirm.
Output
Write to docs/service-design/<slice>/actor-profile-<name>.md using the template at service-design/templates/actor-profile.md. One file per actor type.
Related Artifacts
service-design:empathy-analysis deepens the emotional layer for a single actor this profile defines. service-design:service-blueprint maps the service structure actors move through. service-design:journey-map sequences their experience across time.