Strategy: Implementation

Overview

Workflow-specific patterns for implementation workflows. Provides heuristics for cycle sequencing, execute-then-verify pairing, targeted retry, and escalation. Consumed alongside humaninloop:strategy-core to produce targeted briefings.

When to Use

• Producing briefings for implementation workflow passes
• Determining cycle execution order (foundation vs feature)
• Deciding whether to retry, fix, or escalate after failures
• Evaluating whether verification should follow execution
• Assessing convergence signals across implementation passes

When NOT to Use

• Specification workflows — Use humaninloop:strategy-specification instead
• Graph operations — Use hil-dag MCP tools instead
• Executing implementation tasks — Use humaninloop:executing-tdd-cycle instead
• Running quality gates — Use humaninloop:testing-end-user instead

Goal

Complete all implementation cycles with all gates passing. Success: final-validation gate verdict ready and implementation-complete milestone achieved.

Success Criteria

• All tasks in tasks.md marked [x]
• Final-validation gate verdict: ready
• Implementation-complete milestone: achieved

Core Patterns

Cycle Sequencing

Foundation cycles execute sequentially (C1 before C2 before C3). Feature cycles begin only after all foundation cycles complete. Determine the current cycle by reading tasks.md checkboxes — the first cycle with unchecked tasks is the current cycle.

Rationale: Foundation cycles establish shared infrastructure that feature cycles depend on. Executing them out of order creates cascading failures that waste tokens on retry.

Execute-then-Verify

Every execution node MUST be followed by a verification node within the same pass. Never skip verification, even when the cycle report claims all tasks passed. Quality gates (lint, build, tests) run independently of the implementer.

Rationale: Self-reported success is unreliable for the same reason self-review is unreliable in specification — systematic blind spots. Independent verification catches what the implementer cannot see in their own work.

Targeted Retry

On checkpoint failure, the next execution dispatch focuses on the specific failures from the checkpoint report. Trace failures to responsible tasks, re-open only those tasks, and fix them. Full re-implementation of the cycle wastes tokens on working code.

Rationale: Most checkpoint failures affect 1-2 tasks, not the entire cycle. Selective rework converges faster and avoids introducing new issues in previously-working code.

Escalate Before Stall

After 3 retry attempts on a cycle (or 3 fix passes after final-validation), escalate to the user rather than continuing to retry. Include the checkpoint/validation report so the user has full context.

Rationale: 3 failed attempts signal a structural problem that more attempts will not resolve — missing context, contradictory requirements, or environmental issues. User intervention breaks the loop.

Fix Pass Scoping

A fix pass after validation failure is scoped to the specific failures in the validation report. It is NOT a refactoring opportunity, a chance to improve code quality, or a license to make sweeping changes. Address exactly what failed.

Rationale: Unconstrained fix passes can introduce more failures than they resolve. Tight scoping to reported failures maintains convergence toward completion.

Guardrails

• All tasks in tasks.md must be [x] before final-validation runs
• Every execution node must be followed by a verification node in the same pass
• Max 3 retry attempts per cycle or fix pass before mandatory user escalation

Common Mistakes

Skipping Verification After Execution

Running an execution cycle without follow-up verification — hides failures until final-validation when they are more expensive to fix.

Full Re-Implementation on Retry

Re-doing all cycle tasks when a checkpoint fails. Most failures affect 1-2 tasks. Selective rework converges faster and avoids regressions in working code.

Continuing Past 3 Retries

Silently continuing retry loops instead of escalating. Burns tokens without convergence. 3 failures signal a structural problem that needs human intervention.

Premature Final-Validation

Running final-validation before all cycles complete. Will always fail because unchecked tasks remain. Wastes a pass.

Using Fix Passes for Refactoring

Expanding fix pass scope beyond what the validation report requires. Scope creep during fix passes risks introducing new failures while resolving old ones.