HVE Core Documentation
HVE Core is a prompt engineering framework for GitHub Copilot designed for team-scale adoption. It provides specialized agents, reusable prompts, instruction sets, and a validation pipeline with JSON schema enforcement. The framework separates AI concerns into distinct artifact types with clear boundaries, preventing runaway behavior through constraint-based design.
Audience
| Role | Description | Start Here |
|---|---|---|
| Engineer | Write code, implement features, fix bugs | Engineer Guide |
| TPM | Plan projects, manage requirements, track work | TPM Guide |
| Tech Lead / Architect | Design architecture, review code, set standards | Tech Lead Guide |
| Security Architect | Assess security, create threat models | Security Architect Guide |
| Data Scientist | Analyze data, build notebooks, create dashboards | Data Scientist Guide |
| SRE / Operations | Manage infrastructure, handle incidents, deploy | SRE Guide |
| Business Program Manager | Define business outcomes, manage stakeholders | BPM Guide |
| New Contributor | Get started contributing to the project | New Contributor Guide |
| UX Designer | Design Thinking coaching, user research, prototyping workflows | UX Designer Guide |
| All Roles | Cross-cutting utility tools | Utility Guide |
AI-Assisted Project Lifecycle
HVE Core supports a 9-stage project lifecycle from initial setup through ongoing operations, with AI-assisted tooling at each stage. The project lifecycle guides walk through each stage, covering available tools, role-specific guidance, and starter prompts.
- Stage Overview - Full lifecycle map with Mermaid flowchart
- Stage 6: Implementation - Highest-density stage with 30 assets
- Stage 2: Discovery - Research, requirements, and BRD creation
AI-Assisted Project Lifecycle Overview →
Role Guides
Find your role-specific guide for AI-assisted engineering. Each guide maps the agents, prompts, and collections relevant to your responsibilities.
- Engineer - RPI workflow, coding standards, implementation
- TPM - Requirements, backlog management, sprint planning
- New Contributor - Guided onboarding with progression milestones
Getting Started
The Getting Started guide walks through installation, configuration, and running your first Copilot workflow.
- Installation Methods - Seven setup options from VSCode extension to submodule
- MCP Configuration - Model Context Protocol server setup
- First Workflow - End-to-end example with RPI agents
Agent Systems
hve-core provides specialized agents organized into functional groups. Each group combines agents, prompts, and instruction files into cohesive workflows for specific engineering tasks.
- RPI Orchestration separates complex tasks into research, planning, implementation, and review phases
- GitHub Backlog Manager automates issue discovery, triage, sprint planning, and execution across GitHub repositories
- Additional systems documented in the Agent Catalog
Design Thinking
AI-assisted Design Thinking uses the dt-coach agent to guide teams through nine methods across three spaces.
- Design Thinking Guide: Overview and method catalog
- Why Design Thinking?: When to use DT
- Using the DT Coach: Agent usage guide
- Browse all Design Thinking docs →
RPI Methodology
Research, Plan, Implement (RPI) is a structured methodology for complex AI-assisted engineering tasks. It separates concerns into three specialized agents that work together.
- Why RPI? - Problem statement and design rationale
- Task Researcher - Discovery and context gathering
- Task Planner - Structured task planning
- Task Implementor - Execution with tracking
- Using Together - Agent coordination patterns
Prompt Engineering
HVE Core provides a structured approach to building AI artifacts with protocol patterns, input variables, and maturity lifecycle management.
- Prompt Builder Agent - Interactive artifact creation with sandbox testing
- AI Artifacts Overview - Common patterns across artifact types
- Activation Context - When artifacts activate within workflows
Key Differentiators
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Constraint-based design | Agents know their boundaries, preventing runaway behavior |
| Subagent delegation | First-class pattern for decomposing complex tasks |
| Maturity lifecycle | Four-stage model from experimental to deprecated |
| Schema validation | JSON schema enforcement for all artifact types |
Customization
Adapt HVE Core to your team's workflow with these guides, from lightweight instruction files to full fork-and-extend workflows.
- Customization Overview - Spectrum of customization options and role-based entry points
- Instructions - Repository-level and file-pattern-scoped coding guidance
- Agents - Custom agent architecture, subagent patterns, and tool restrictions
- Prompts - Task-specific prompt files with variables and agent delegation
- Skills - Self-contained skill packages with scripts and references
- Collections - Bundle and distribute sets of agents, prompts, instructions, and skills
- Build System - Plugin generation, schema validation, and CI pipeline integration
- Forking - Fork setup, customization areas, and upstream synchronization
- Environment - DevContainer, VS Code settings, and MCP server configuration
- Team Adoption - Governance, naming conventions, onboarding, and change management
Contributing
Learn how to create and maintain AI artifacts including agents, prompts, instructions, and skills.
- Instructions - Passive reference guidance
- Prompts - Task-specific procedures
- Agents - Custom personas and modes
- Skills - Executable utilities with documentation
Architecture
Technical documentation for system design, component relationships, and build pipelines.
- Component Overview - System components and interactions
- AI Artifacts - Four-tier artifact delegation model
- Build Workflows - GitHub Actions CI/CD architecture
- Testing - PowerShell Pester test infrastructure
Templates
Pre-built templates for common engineering documents:
- ADR Template - Architecture Decision Records
- BRD Template - Business Requirements Documents
- Security Plan Template - Security planning
Quick Links
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Customization Guide | Adapt HVE Core to your workflow |
| CHANGELOG | Release history and version notes |
| CONTRIBUTING | Repository contribution guidelines |
| Scripts README | Automation script reference |
| Extension README | VS Code extension documentation |
🤖 Crafted with precision by ✨Copilot following brilliant human instruction, then carefully refined by our team of discerning human reviewers.