Roles & AI Agents — Mountain Camp 2027¶

Defines the 5 accountability clusters that replace the legacy 17-role model, and the AI agent boundaries within each cluster.

Role Clusters¶

Reduces 17 legacy roles into 5 accountability clusters with clear prioritization. Use this as the primary lens for staffing and for AI agent boundaries.

Why clusters¶

The original Drupal Mountain Camp Roles & Accountabilities listed 17 roles. That is too many to staff clearly and to use when defining how AI agents help. Clustering groups related accountabilities; prioritization shows where to assign people first and where agent support matters most.

The 5 clusters¶

Diversity & Inclusion (CoC, accessibility, diversity in program) is cross-cutting. It is not a sixth cluster but a lens applied by every cluster, with one named D&I lead who advises and checks.

Prioritization (Tiers)¶

Tier 1 — Make-or-break (staff first)

Without these, the event does not get defined, sold, or attended.

• Lead & Coordination — Someone must own vision, timeline, and budget.
• Program & Content — Defines what people come for.
• Marketing & Web — How people hear about it and sign up.
• Revenue — Sponsors and tickets fund the event.

Tier 2 — Event quality (staff next)

Determines whether DMC feels like DMC (atmosphere, welcome, logistics). Feedback shows atmosphere and welcome are top drivers; this cluster owns delivery.

• Venue & Experience — Venue, accommodation, volunteers, socials, photography.

Embedded — Non-negotiable but not a separate cluster

• Diversity & Inclusion — Named D&I lead; accountabilities (CoC, accessibility, diversity in program) are owned by Lead, Program, and Venue & Experience with D&I input.

Mapping to working groups¶

Working groups are the operational teams; clusters are the accountability model.

So: 5 role clusters, 5–6 working groups (depending whether Program and Sprints stay separate).

RACI (optional reference)¶

To be filled when organizing committee is confirmed (May–June 2026).

AI Agent Boundaries¶

How AI agents can support DMC27 work, by accountability cluster. Boundaries and approval rules keep agents helpful without taking over human decisions.

Best practices¶

Human-in-the-loop (HITL)

• Approval gates: The agent produces a draft or proposes an action; a human approves before it is executed or published.
• Escalation: The agent works autonomously for low-risk tasks but escalates when confidence is low or the action is high-impact.
• Shared context: Humans and agents use the same artefacts (repo, timeline, action-items) so work stays aligned.

Risk-based routing

• Low risk — agent can act (with review in repo): Summaries, retrieval, classification, internal drafts, research, document updates in the repo. Edits are visible in version control.
• Supervised by default: External communications (email, social, contact-form replies), public content publish, financial actions, access or config changes. Agent drafts; human approves before send/publish/commit.
• Evidence for approval: When an agent proposes something that needs approval, it should provide enough context (draft, rationale, sources) so a human can decide quickly.

What stays human-only

• Final decisions on money, contracts, and legal.
• Relationship-sensitive outreach (e.g. key sponsor or speaker conversations).
• Safety and inclusion: Code of Conduct, accessibility, D&I. Agents can draft and suggest; humans own decisions and tone.

1. Lead & Coordination¶

Agents can: - Summarise feedback and meeting notes. - Draft and update timeline and milestone text. - Sync decisions from meeting notes into planning/action-items.md and relevant docs. - Propose agenda items or next steps from open action items.

Approval required: - Any change that commits the team to a date, budget, or staffing decision. Human reviews before the change is treated as final.

Human-only: - Vision and strategic direction. - Team staffing and facilitation. - Final budget and milestone sign-off. - Appreciation and internal communication tone.

2. Program & Content¶

Agents can: - Research potential speakers (including outside Drupal) aligned with themes (AI ethics, Data Sovereignty, Open Web). - Draft CFP text, schedule frameworks, and session descriptions. - Suggest diversity and balance improvements using feedback/feedback-analysis.md. - Draft runbooks for video publishing, slide collection reminders, contribution sprint topics.

Approval required: - Publishing or changing the public CFP, schedule, or speaker list. - Any external message to speakers or contribution leads.

Human-only: - Keynote and featured speaker relationships and invitations. - Final session selection and schedule. - Recording and publishing decisions (rights, platform).

3. Marketing & Web¶

Agents can: - Draft newsletters, social posts (LinkedIn, X, Bsky), and web copy. - Propose campaign timing and channels using timeline.md and marketing/personas.md. - Suggest structure and copy for website pages. - Draft or refine brand and design briefs (mood, tone, copy for assets).

Approval required: - Any send (newsletter, email) or publish (social, website). Human approves before go-live. - Contact-form or social reply templates: human approves before use.

Human-only: - Campaign strategy and audience definition. - Final brand identity and visual assets. - Direct replies to attendees or media.

4. Revenue¶

Agents can: - Draft sponsorship prospectus text, tier descriptions, and benefit lists. - Draft sponsor outreach email templates and follow-up sequences. - Draft ticket tier copy and pricing rationale (for internal use). - Draft budget reports, categorise expenses, reconcile against plan.

Approval required: - Any outgoing sponsor email or public commitment. - Any change to ticket prices, dates, or public tier descriptions. - Finance: no payment initiation, refund, or bank action — drafts and reports only.

Human-only: - Sponsor and partner relationships and negotiations. - Payment initiation, refunds, and financial sign-off. - Diversity and access ticket decisions.

5. Venue & Experience¶

Agents can: - Draft checklists and runbooks (venue setup, AV, catering, volunteers). - Draft volunteer briefs, role descriptions, and sign-up text. - Draft descriptions for social activities and pre-conference options. - Draft photography briefs, shot lists, and consent wording.

Approval required: - Any commitment to venue, supplier, or photographer. - Any public promise to attendees (e.g. "we will provide X").

Human-only: - Venue and supplier contracts and negotiations. - On-site coordination and volunteer management. - Hiring and contracting photographers.

Diversity & Inclusion (cross-cutting)¶

Agents can: - Draft Code of Conduct text and accessibility checklists. - Propose diversity metrics or checks on program and speaker mix. - Suggest inclusive language and format improvements in drafts.

Approval required: - All CoC and D&I-related text. Human owns final wording and enforcement.

Human-only: - Final Code of Conduct and enforcement decisions. - Accessibility and inclusion decisions. - Tone and safety in sensitive situations.

Quick Reference¶

Related: Working groups. Agent instructions: AGENTS.md.