Planning Clarification

Planning Clarification

Purpose

Resolve only the ambiguity that blocks roadmap planning. Do not decompose roadmap structure here.

Use when

• docs or prompt show real ambiguity about goals, constraints, success criteria, or now-vs-later boundaries
• roadmap decomposition cannot proceed without first choosing direction
• the next step depends on clarifying what belongs now, what belongs later, or what the first planning slice should target

Do not use when

• missing docs are the only problem
• roadmap direction is already clear enough to decompose
• the current work is milestone decomposition, task-local design, or execution

Read first

• docs/tasks/index.md
• docs/tasks/planning-inbox.md
• relevant docs/tasks/ materials
• docs/architecture/
• docs/context/
• the current user prompt

Owns

• identifying roadmap-blocking ambiguity
• framing roadmap-blocking ambiguity for grilling
• making now-vs-later boundaries explicit
• recommending one clarified direction
• handing off clarified planning context

Must not own

• milestone, module, or task decomposition
• task-local spec.md or plan.md
• implementation or execution isolation
• open-ended product discovery beyond what is needed to unblock roadmap planning

Entry checks

• Use this skill only for positive ambiguity evidence, not for missing docs alone.
• Use the external grilling skill for the interview loop. If it is unavailable, ask the user to install it instead of recreating its full protocol here.
• If codebase or docs can answer a question, inspect them before asking the user.
• If the issue is already about roadmap structure rather than direction, route to milestone-planning.

Default flow

1. Identify the specific ambiguity blocking roadmap planning.
2. Start a grilling session constrained to roadmap-blocking planning ambiguity.
3. Let grilling run the interview protocol while this skill preserves roadmap boundaries.
4. Make the consequence of each branch explicit: what belongs now, what belongs later, and what the next planning target becomes.
5. Once direction is clear enough for decomposition, stop and hand off to milestone-planning.

Clarification rules

• Treat this as roadmap-blocking clarification, not broad product discovery.
• Use grilling for the interview loop instead of duplicating its questioning protocol here.
• Keep the question surface narrow: ask only what changes roadmap direction, phase boundaries, success criteria, or first-slice scope.
• Treat a goal as a desired future state, product outcome, opportunity, or phase direction. Do not use clarification just to relabel an already concrete task-shaped item as a goal.
• If the prompt item already has a concrete outcome, rough scope, and obvious acceptance surface, hand it to milestone-planning for placement instead of asking abstract goal questions.
• When real alternatives exist, compare 2-3 plausible directions briefly and recommend one.
• If scope is too large for one planning pass, clarify the first coherent planning target instead of trying to settle the whole product at once.
• Do not start roadmap decomposition in the same response that finishes clarification.

If blocked

• Continue through grilling when the block is an unresolved decision.
• If the user has not answered the current routing question, do not answer it on their behalf.

Review and follow-up

• Stop after clarified direction is confirmed or corrected.
• Treat clear forward-motion language after that stop as permission to move into the recommended next planning stage.
• Default follow-up is handoff to milestone-planning.

Output

• current ambiguity
• next question or option set
• recommended direction
• clarified now-vs-later boundary

Stop point

• one blocking clarification question
• or clarified-direction handoff to milestone-planning

Handoff

• Decided
• Undecided
• Next skill
• Stop point