Plan Writing
Overview
Convert research findings into actionable implementation plans. Scales planning rigor to stakes level. Every code-changing task specifies tests before implementation.
When to Use
- After research phase identifies what needs to change
- Before implementing any medium or high stakes changes
- When requirements are clear and codebase is understood
Process
- Load research - Find
*-<topic>-research.mdindocs/plans/ - Classify stakes - Low (isolated, reversible), Medium (multiple files), High (architectural)
- Define success criteria - Functional, non-functional, and acceptance criteria
- Decompose tasks - Granular steps with file paths, line references, verification methods
- Plan tests - Test specification as first sub-step per task (test-first)
- Assess risks - Breaking changes, performance, security, dependencies, rollback strategy
- Write plan document -
docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-plan.md - Approval gate - Human approves, requests changes, or returns to research
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
- Vague task descriptions without specific file references
- Missing verification criteria for any step
- Combining test writing and implementation into single steps
- Planning rigor mismatched to stakes level
- Proceeding without explicit user approval
Tool Use
Invoke via babysitter process: methodologies/rpikit/rpikit-plan