> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://prism.ntecdev.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # PTrends Process Shims > How Prism exposes reusable processes as thin advisory pointers without moving authority into local surfaces. # PTrends Process Shims > Operator-facing reference for the process-shim model ratified in Plan #30. > Audience: agents and operators who invoke or author local surface helpers. > Governing SPEC: SPEC-138 v0.1 (model + authority boundary), > SPEC-137 v0.1 (generation contract). ## What PTrends Means **PTrends** is the neutral label Prism uses for prevailing workflow-packaging trends that are translated into Prism-native governance language. It is a source label only. No committed artifact names an external source, tool, repository, project, or author as provenance for the process-shim model. ## What a Process Shim Is A **process shim** is a thin advisory pointer. It helps an agent or operator discover, invoke, format, or record use of a Prism process body. It is not the process body itself and it is not authority. Shims live on local surfaces — editor helpers, skills, slash commands, and similar host-local conveniences. They are generated and managed per SPEC-137. ## What a Process Shim Is Not | A shim **may** | A shim **may not** | | ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Reference a stable process id or lookup key | Duplicate or restate full process body text | | Carry a concise label and one-line purpose | Define governance rules | | Carry trigger hints for auto-invocation | Grant approval, merge, deploy, secret, or RTE authority | | Reference output and evidence shapes | Override a Ring rule, committed governance file, or ratified contract | | Carry routing hints for the owning lane | Read or write local editor memory as a source of truth | | Reference SPEC-137 for generation mechanics | Act as a registry that can drift from Prism | When a shim conflicts with a Ring rule, committed governance file, ratified Prism SPEC or ADR, role or persona contract, or a live Prism process body, **the shim loses**. ## Authority Model Authority is fixed and does not shift when a shim is installed or invoked: 1. **Ring 0** — native BIOS files (`AGENTS.md` / `CLAUDE.md`) for universal non-negotiable session invariants. 2. **Ring 1–3** — `$PRISM_ROOT/PRISM.md`, `$PRISM_ROOT/Orgs/$PRISM_ORG/ORG.md`, and `$PRISM_PROJECT_DIR/PROJECT.md` for committed governance. 3. **Ratified Prism artifacts** — SPECs, ADRs, role contracts, persona contracts, and process bodies. 4. **Runtime Prism services** — `prism_start`, signals, semantic recall, process lookup, and Team Memory as live operational state and evidence. 5. **Local shims** — invocation and formatting conveniences only. A shim sits at layer 5. It cannot elevate itself or grant authority that its layer does not have. ## Two-Layer Model The process-shim model is split into two SPEC layers so that the principle and the mechanics stay cleanly separated: | Layer | SPEC | Owns | | ----------------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Model** | SPEC-138 | Principle, authority boundary, packaging stance, PO outer-loop expectation, governance acceptance criteria | | **Generation contract** | SPEC-137 | Generated-shim metadata, process-body fetch and verification, stale/missing-body behavior, trigger confidence, `missing_context_policy`, invocation evidence, tests | When you need to understand *what* a shim is allowed to be, read SPEC-138. When you need to understand *how* a shim is generated, fetched, verified, or tested at runtime, read SPEC-137. ## Agent-Driven Operating Model Prism is **agent-driven**. Process shims do not turn it into a human-driven command system. Humans may invoke a shim as a shortcut. Agents — especially Product Owner agents — must invoke the applicable Prism process automatically when the lifecycle context requires it and the SPEC-137 trigger gate passes. An agent must not wait for a human to type a command when the current work clearly requires planning, assignment, review, merge, deploy, verification, incident routing, or learning closure. The agent must not rely on broad keyword matching as proof that a process should run. Trigger confidence and missing-context behavior are governed by SPEC-137. ## Product Owner Outer Loop The Product Owner archetype owns the outer development lifecycle loop: ``` Think → Plan → Assign → Build → Review → Merge → Deploy → Verify → Learn ``` Each stage iterates until its exit evidence is satisfied. The Product Owner must: * Read or refresh the outer-loop process at bootstrap and at major stage transitions when the applicable trigger gate passes. * Detect stalled stages and assign ownable work immediately. * Drive frequent safe merge, deploy, and smoke-verify cadence. * Close each loop iteration with evidence and learning records. The Product Owner must not wait for a human slash command when the lifecycle context clearly requires action and the trigger gate passes. ## How Agents and Humans Use Shims **Agents** auto-invoke when trigger conditions are met (per SPEC-137). The shim points to the process body; the agent fetches and applies it. The shim does not replace the process body or change what authority the agent has. **Humans** may invoke a shim via a slash command, editor skill, or helper surface as a shortcut to discovering and running a process. The same authority rules apply — the shim is a pointer, not a grant. In both cases, the Prism process body fetched by the shim is the authority. The shim that pointed to it is not. ## Acceptance Gate (Docs Lane) Per SPEC-138 §Acceptance Criteria, the docs lane confirms: * Operator-facing docs explain PTrends and process shims without external source names. * No doc implies humans must drive every lifecycle step. * Shims are described as thin advisory pointers that fetch and apply Prism process bodies, not as authority. * Ring/system contracts and Prism process bodies remain the source of truth. This page satisfies criterion 13. Desiree, docs lane. ## References * SPEC-138 v0.1 — PTrends Process-Shim Model (authority boundary + governance). * SPEC-137 v0.1 — Process-Shim Generation Contract (mechanics + tests). * SPEC-078 — Consensus-First Parallelism and Method Fragments. * SPEC-105 — Agent Contracts. * SPEC-113 — Bootstrap Path Resolution and Scaffold Completeness. * SPEC-130 — Team Memory Events. * Plan #30.