Agent Skills: CODER Framework

CODER Framework

Apply Brian Balfour's CODER Framework to systematically drive AI adoption across your organization.

Entry Point

When this skill is invoked, start with:

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 CODER FRAMEWORK
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Drive AI adoption across your organization.

- Constraints: Make new behavior easier than old
- Ownership: Assign clear responsibility
- Directives: Create specific, actionable instructions
- Expectations: Set measurable goals
- Rewards: Tie to career progression

What do you want to do?

  1. Diagnose adoption barriers
  2. Create full CODER plan
  3. Focus on specific team

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What This Does

Guides you through creating an AI adoption plan using the CODER framework:

• Constraints - Make new behavior easier than old behavior
• Ownership - Assign clear responsibility
• Directives - Create specific, actionable instructions
• Expectations - Set measurable goals
• Rewards - Tie to career progression

Usage

/coder

Optional parameters:

• /coder --diagnose - Identify your primary adoption barrier
• /coder --team [team-name] - Create plan for specific team
• /coder --export - Generate implementation doc

What Happens

1. Diagnoses your situation:

   • Company size and structure
   • Current AI adoption level
   • Primary barriers (political, retrofitting, procurement, knowledge, permission)
   • Team composition (catalysts 15-20%, converts 60-70%, anchors 15-20%)

2. Guides through CODER framework:

   • Designs 1-2 constraints for your context
   • Assigns ownership (CEO/functional leaders)
   • Creates 2-3 directives per function
   • Sets specific, universal, measurable expectations
   • Defines how to tie to rewards (performance reviews, leveling)

3. Generates implementation plan:

   • Immediate actions
   • 30/60/90 day milestones
   • Metrics to track
   • Common pitfalls to avoid

The Framework Components

C - Constraints

Make AI behavior easier than old behavior:

• Time constraints (hackathons, dedicated AI days)
• Process constraints ("I only review work demonstrating AI augmentation")
• Tool constraints (Copilot required, AI in workflows)

O - Ownership

Assign clear responsibility:

• CEO: Overall cultural shift
• Functional leaders: Team-specific directives
• Clear escalation paths for blockers

D - Directives

Create specific, actionable instructions (2-3 per team):

• Product: "All features must include AI prototype before design review"
• Engineering: "All code reviews must use GitHub Copilot"
• Design: "Design critiques include AI generation process"

E - Expectations

Set specific, universal, measurable goals:

• ✓ "100% of PMs prototype features with AI" (not "use AI effectively")
• ✓ "90%+ of code commits show Copilot usage"
• ✓ AI fluency levels: Aware→Exploratory→Proficient→Advanced→Expert

R - Rewards

Tie to career progression:

• Performance review criteria
• Leveling guide updates
• Promotion requirements

Common Adoption Barriers

| Barrier | Symptom | Solution Focus | |---------|---------|----------------| | Political | Leaders disagree on value | Ownership, CEO mandate | | Retrofitting | "We can't use AI for X" | Directives, examples | | Procurement | Tool access blocked | Constraints, budgets | | Knowledge | Don't know how to use tools | Directives, training | | Permission | Fear of doing wrong | Expectations, psychological safety |

Learn More

See the full CODER framework at: frameworks/ai-era-practices/organizational-ai-adoption.md

Framework: Brian Balfour (Reforge, 2025) Best for: Driving organizational change, AI adoption, behavioral transformation Key insight: Move from value capture (10-15% efficiency) to value creation (new capabilities)