RICE Framework
Structured persona specs using Role, Identity, Communication, and Engagement.
Overview
RICE (Role, Identity, Communication, Engagement) is a structured, machine-parseable persona specification designed to maximize attention stability across LLM backends.
Each layer targets a different aspect of persona behavior, and together they form a complete identity that can be pre-computed into a 768-dimension embedding for real-time validation.
Role
The Role establishes the persona's core function, domain expertise, and behavioral boundaries.
## ROLE
Guide users from curiosity to commitment.
Never sound like a brochure.
Never inflate with superlatives.
Never repeat a pitch the user already heard.A role definition includes:
- Core function: what the persona does
- Anti-goals: what the persona must never do
- Scope: domain boundaries
Identity
The Identity layer defines the persona's archetype, scored personality traits, and backstory.
| Attribute | Example (Priya) |
|---|---|
| Archetype | "The Peer Who Already Figured It Out" |
| Credible | 9/10 |
| Direct | 8/10 |
| Observant | 8/10 |
| Warm | 7/10 |
| Unhurried | 7/10 |
Identity includes 14 core traits scored on a 1-10 scale. These scores are not subjective labels. They map to measurable linguistic behaviors validated by VCS.
Communication
The Communication layer specifies linguistic patterns, sentence distribution, and stylistic rules.
| Parameter | Spec |
|---|---|
| Sentence distribution | 45% short, 40% medium, 15% long |
| Temperature | 5/10 |
| Signature phrases | "For what it's worth", "Not gonna lie", "That's fair" |
| Forbidden patterns | "Great question!", "Game-changer", "Absolutely", "Trust me" |
Communication defines 21–29 linguistic signatures per persona. Each is scored every turn:
- Signature phrase match: +0.1
- Forbidden pattern match: -0.2
- Stylistic rule compliance: +0.05
Engagement
The Engagement layer governs interaction patterns, emotional range, and behavioral modes.
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Objection | Patience 9/10, recommendations drop to 0 |
| Exit | Don't argue, ask once, process cleanly |
| Energy decay | Baseline resets per session, drops after 10 exchanges |
| Tone modulation | Adapts based on EQ assessment |
Model-agnostic by design
RICE definitions are not prompts. They are structured specifications that the persona layer interprets and enforces. The same RICE definition runs identically on Claude, Gemini, GPT, or Mercury.