---
id: wiki-2026-0508-keeper-of-the-vision
title: Keeper of the Vision
category: 10_Wiki/Topics
status: verified
canonical_id: self
aliases: [Keeper of the Vision, Vision Keeper, 비전 수호자, Architect Role]
duplicate_of: none
source_trust_level: A
confidence_score: 0.85
verification_status: applied
tags: [architecture, leadership, role, organization, technical-direction]
raw_sources: []
last_reinforced: 2026-05-10
github_commit: pending
tech_stack:
  language: n/a
  framework: organizational
---

# Keeper of the Vision

## 매 한 줄
> **"매 architect 의 most-underrated 의무"**. Keeper of the Vision 매 architectural integrity 매 long-term direction 매 day-to-day pressure 의 face 매 protect 매 role — 매 single coherent product/system 의 maintain 매 short-term shortcut 매 technical debt 의 accumulation 의 방지. Brooks ("Mythical Man-Month"), Fowler 매 emphasized.

## 매 핵심

### 매 What the Keeper does
- **Conceptual integrity**: 매 system 매 단일 mind 의 product 처럼 feel 하도록.
- **Veto authority**: 매 vision-violating change 의 block (or escalate).
- **Trade-off articulation**: 매 short-term gain vs long-term cost 의 명확.
- **Mentorship**: 매 team 매 vision 의 internalize 하도록.
- **Public memory**: 매 ADR (Architecture Decision Record) 매 maintain.

### 매 Tensions
- **Speed vs coherence**: 매 PM 매 ship now, 매 keeper 매 do it right.
- **Local vs global**: 매 team A 매 best for them, 매 worst for system.
- **Innovation vs consistency**: 매 new framework 매 cool, 매 다양 ization 매 maintenance burden.

### 매 응용
1. **Tech lead role**: 매 small team 매 lead 의 explicit responsibility.
2. **Staff/Principal engineer**: 매 cross-team 매 keeper.
3. **Game director / Lead designer**: 매 product vision (Miyamoto, Sid Meier model).
4. **Open source BDFL**: 매 Linus, Guido, Matz — 매 codified extreme.

## 💻 패턴

### Architecture Decision Record (ADR)
```markdown
# ADR-0042: Use SQLite for embedded analytics, not Postgres

Status: Accepted
Date: 2026-04-12
Context: Edge devices need local analytics queries...
Decision: SQLite + Litestream replication.
Consequences:
  + zero ops, single binary
  - no advanced window functions until SQLite 3.45
Vision alignment: "operate offline-first" pillar #2.
```

### Vision artifact (one-pager)
```markdown
# Product North Star (2026)
1. Offline-first: every feature works without network.
2. Single-binary deploy: no docker required for self-host.
3. Plain-text data: SQLite + JSON, no proprietary blobs.
4. Pluggable AI: vendor-neutral, swap Anthropic ↔ local Llama.
```

### Keeper review checklist (PR template)
```markdown
- [ ] Aligns with North Star pillars (#1–4)?
- [ ] Introduces new dependency? Justify.
- [ ] Adds DB migration? Reversible?
- [ ] Public API change? ADR required.
- [ ] Latency impact measured?
```

### Conceptual integrity test
```python
def integrity_smell(diff: Diff) -> list[str]:
    smells = []
    if introduces_new_pattern(diff) and not has_adr(diff):
        smells.append("New pattern w/o ADR")
    if duplicates_existing(diff):
        smells.append(f"Duplicates {diff.similar_to}")
    if cross_layer_import(diff):
        smells.append("Layer boundary violated")
    return smells
```

### Office-hours protocol
```
Weekly architect office hours (1h):
  - Anyone bring design Q
  - Whiteboard walkthrough
  - Output: ADR draft or "go ahead"
Cost: 1h/week. Benefit: prevents 10× cost of misalignment.
```

## 매 결정 기준
| 상황 | Approach |
|---|---|
| 매 small team (≤5) | 매 tech lead 매 implicit keeper |
| 매 medium (5–20) | 매 explicit "architect" role 매 part-time |
| 매 large (>20) | 매 architecture guild + Staff/Principal 매 keeper |
| 매 OSS project | 매 BDFL or 매 core team 매 vote |
| 매 startup early | 매 founder/CTO 매 keeper |

**기본값**: 매 ADR + weekly office hours + 매 명시적 vision document.

## 🔗 Graph
- 부모: [[Software-Architect-Role]] · [[Conceptual-Integrity]]
- 변형: [[Tech-Lead]] · [[Staff-Engineer]] · [[BDFL]]
- 응용: [[ADR-Architecture-Decision-Record]] · [[North-Star-Document]]
- Adjacent: [[Mythical-Man-Month]] · [[Conways-Law]] · [[Technical-Debt]]

## 🤖 LLM 활용
**언제**: 매 architect role responsibilities 의 articulate; 매 ADR template; 매 architecture review checklist.
**언제 X**: 매 individual contributor 의 day-to-day coding (다른 layer); 매 PM/product strategy (overlap 있지만 scope 다름).

## ❌ 안티패턴
- **Ivory tower architect**: 매 코드 매 안 짜고 매 mandate 만 — 매 lose credibility.
- **Veto-only**: 매 block 만 하고 매 alternatives 매 propose 안 함.
- **Vision drift**: 매 6 months 매 vision 매 silent 변경 — 매 team 매 confused.
- **Hero dependency**: 매 keeper 떠나면 매 collapse — 매 succession plan 필요.

## 🧪 검증 / 중복
- Verified (Brooks "Mythical Man-Month" Ch.4 conceptual integrity, Fowler "Who Needs an Architect?", Kruchten ADR origin 2011).
- 신뢰도 A.

## 🕓 Changelog
| 날짜 | 변경 |
|---|---|
| 2026-05-08 | Phase 1 |
| 2026-05-10 | Manual cleanup — full content (architect role, ADR patterns) |
