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

1. Load research - Find *-<topic>-research.md in docs/plans/
2. Classify stakes - Low (isolated, reversible), Medium (multiple files), High (architectural)
3. Define success criteria - Functional, non-functional, and acceptance criteria
4. Decompose tasks - Granular steps with file paths, line references, verification methods
5. Plan tests - Test specification as first sub-step per task (test-first)
6. Assess risks - Breaking changes, performance, security, dependencies, rollback strategy
7. Write plan document - docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-plan.md
8. 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