The AI Department Manifesto — Cromus
The second Cromus manifesto, published August 2026, explains the product shift from Workflow Intelligence as a Service to the AI Department model.
The central argument: governance is a practice problem, not a team problem. The original Cromus pricing locked the Specialist role — automated CI review of every SKILL.md change — at the Ops tier ($99), meaning solo developers and indie hackers got cost simulation but not governance. This was the wrong sequencing.
The manifesto introduces the three-role AI Department: Specialist (entry, Builder $49) reviews every workflow specification before it merges; Manager (Ops $99) watches the portfolio and coordinates team workspaces; CWO (Agency $249) signs governance reports and handles client-facing attestations. The department scales with you — it does not ask you to earn governance.
The manifesto also addresses the Founding Member change directly: Founding Members retain Builder-level features at $29 locked forever, with badge, roadmap input, and permanent price lock — but not Ops-level features (team seats, shared libraries, version history). The document frames this as a product correction made publicly rather than silently.
Core new belief: pricing is product. Where you draw the tier line tells users what you think they deserve.