---
name: bed-playbook
description: "What a Back-End Developer reaches for in RBA Skills to design APIs and data models, scaffold integrations, and document backend changes."
disciplines:
  - engineering
tags:
  - playbook
  - role-guide
  - bed
author:
  name: Kassie Gibbons
  url: https://rba.com
---

# Back-End Developer Playbook

BEDs build the systems that power the experience — APIs, data models, integrations, authentication, and the logic that makes everything work. You know where the real complexity lives, often before anyone else does. This is your RBA Skills toolkit.

## Create — build the systems

| Reach for | Why |
|---|---|
| **integration-scaffolder** (`integration-api-spec`, `integration-data-mapping`, `integration-client-scaffold`, `integration-error-resilience`, `integration-monitoring-observability`) | API specs, data mapping, client scaffolds, resilience, and observability for integrations. |
| `write-an-adr` skill / **documentation-generator** → `adr-writer` | Record the architecture decisions you're making. |
| `api-mock-stub-builder` / `sql-query-explainer` / `env-var-documenter` skills | Mocks, query review, and config documentation. |
| `user-story-writer` skill | Review stories for hidden backend complexity. |

## Test & Review

| Reach for | Why |
|---|---|
| **code-review-enforcer** → `pr-reviewer` / `standards-check` / `security-scan` | Enforce standards and catch security issues in review. |
| **security-readiness-reviewer** (`owasp-security-audit`, `dependency-cve-scan`) | Backend security and dependency hygiene. |

## Deliver — document the change

| Reach for | Why |
|---|---|
| **release-notes-generator** → `release-notes-developer` | Document backend changes, migrations, and deployment steps. |
| **estimate-sow-builder** → `change-order-builder` | When integration complexity changes the scope. |
| **incident-runbook** → `incident-triage` | Be ready when something breaks in production. |

## BED Tips

- **Scope integration boundaries explicitly.** "Salesforce integration" is not scope. Define the endpoints and which side RBA owns.
- **Flag integration risks early.** Until API docs are confirmed, treat them as a real estimate risk.
- **Also explore the cloud track:** **cloud-devops-accelerator** for Azure landing zones, Bicep/Terraform, CI/CD, and security baselines.