Plan Before You Code

Overview

Understand the request, discover relevant context, propose a concise plan, get approval. Keep it fast — the goal is alignment, not a design workshop.

<HARD-GATE> Do NOT write any code or make any file changes until the user has approved your proposed approach. </HARD-GATE>

The Process

Step 1: Understand the Request

Read the user's message. You already have the "what" — don't ask a series of questions up front. Only ask clarifying questions if:

• The request is genuinely ambiguous (two different valid interpretations)
• You discover during context check that key details are missing (e.g. which framework, which database)

In those cases, ask the specific questions you need — not a blanket "tell me more". Be explicit about what you need and why.

Step 2: Discover Context

Invoke oac:context-discovery with the task topic to find relevant project standards and patterns.

If context-discovery reports no context installed: proceed anyway — note it as "none" in the proposal and include the context hint (see Step 4). Do not pause or ask the user before proposing.

If context found: note the key files returned — reference them in your proposal.

Step 3: Ask Clarifying Questions (if needed)

After reviewing the context and the request, if there are still gaps that would significantly change the approach, ask them now — explicitly and concisely:

Before I propose an approach, I need a couple of details:

1. {specific question} — because {why it matters to the approach}
2. {specific question} — because {why it matters to the approach}

Keep it to the minimum needed. If you can make a reasonable assumption, state it in the proposal instead of asking.

Step 4: Propose

Present a lightweight plan. Short — not a full spec:

## Proposed Approach

**What**: {1-2 sentence description of what we're building/changing}
**How**: {brief description of approach — key decisions only}
**Assumptions**: {any assumptions made where questions weren't asked}
**Files**: {list of files to create or modify}
**Context loaded**: {key standards files found, or "none — using general best practices"}
**External docs needed**: {any library docs to fetch first, or "none"}

Approve or let me know what to adjust.

If context was missing or minimal, append this hint at the end of the proposal — do not replace or interrupt the proposal, just add it after:

💡 Tip: For better results tailored to your project's standards, run /install-context
   to set up context files. This helps me follow your coding conventions automatically.

Step 5: Get Approval

Wait for the user to approve or adjust. If they adjust, update the proposal and ask again. Do not start implementation until explicitly approved.

Step 6: Hand Off to Implementation

Once approved:

• Simple (1–3 files, straightforward): implement directly
• Complex (4+ files, multiple components): invoke oac:task-breakdown to create subtasks first

Key Principles

• Fast — Understand from the message, don't interrogate the user up front
• Context first — Always attempt discovery before proposing
• No context = hint, not block — Show the install tip at the bottom of the proposal, never before it
• Explicit questions — If you must ask, say what you need and why — not "tell me more"
• Assumptions over questions — State assumptions in proposal rather than asking for every detail
• Concise proposal — A paragraph, not a doc; enough for yes/no/adjust
• YAGNI — Propose the minimum that satisfies the requirement

Related

• oac:context-discovery — invoked in Step 2
• oac:context-setup — when no context found
• oac:task-breakdown — for complex features after approval