Planning From Research

Planning From Research

Transform a research document into a concrete, executable implementation plan.

CRITICAL BOUNDARIES

This skill is STRICTLY for planning. Do not write code, do not implement, do not execute tasks. Produce a document that someone else (or a future session) can execute from.

Purpose

Convert the structural understanding from codebase-research into an actionable work plan. This skill bridges the gap between "what exists" (research) and "what to build" (execution).

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• A research document exists in memory-bank/research/
• The goal is to create an implementation plan for development work
• The output must be clear enough for a junior developer to execute independently

Workflow

Step 1: Load Research Document

Locate and read the full research document:

• If a path is provided: Read from memory-bank/research/<path>
• If a topic is provided: Find the latest matching file in memory-bank/research/

Extract:

• Scope and constraints
• Key files and their purposes
• Identified patterns and dependencies
• Any questions or TODOs noted during research

Step 2: Validate Completeness

CRITICAL: Verify the research document contains no blocking vagueness before planning.

Check for these red flags:

If Blocking Issues Found

Option A: Deploy Subagents (if available)

Deploy up to 3 subagents in parallel to resolve open questions:

1. context-synthesis: Analyze open questions; determine which block planning
2. codebase-analyzer: Investigate technical unknowns; provide concrete recommendations
3. codebase-locator: Find pattern examples; show how similar problems were solved

Option B: Confirm with User (if subagents unavailable)

Present open questions to the user and request explicit answers before proceeding.

Option C: Follow Workflow in Order

If neither subagents nor user confirmation is viable, document the open questions as assumptions in the plan with clear risk flags, then proceed. The plan must note: "These items were unresolved at planning time and may require re-planning."

DO NOT proceed to Step 3 until blocking questions are resolved, documented as assumptions, or explicitly deferred.

Step 3: Check for Drift

Capture current repository state:

git rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo "not-a-repo"
git status --porcelain 2>/dev/null || echo "clean"

If code changed significantly since research:

• Add a "Drift Note" to the plan
• Mark affected assumptions/tasks for re-verification

Step 4: Generate Plan

Create memory-bank/plan/YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS_<topic>.md with this structure:

---
title: "<topic> – Plan"
phase: Plan
date: "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS"
owner: "<agent_or_user>"
parent_research: "memory-bank/research/<file>.md"
git_commit_at_plan: "<sha_or_not-a-repo>"
tags: [plan, <topic>]
---

## Goal

**Singular Focus**: One crisp sentence describing the exact outcome.

Non-goals (explicitly excluded):
- [Non-goal 1]
- [Non-goal 2]

## Scope & Assumptions

### In Scope
- [Specific bounded item 1]
- [Specific bounded item 2]

### Out of Scope
- [Item that appears related but is excluded]

### Assumptions
- [Assumption 1]: [Justification]
- [Assumption 2]: [Justification]

### Constraints
- [Technical/business constraint 1]
- [Technical/business constraint 2]

## Deliverables (Definition of Done)

| # | Deliverable | Acceptance Criteria | How to Verify |
|---|-------------|---------------------|---------------|
| 1 | [Artifact name] | [Specific testable criteria] | [Method] |
| 2 | [Artifact name] | [Specific testable criteria] | [Method] |

## Readiness (Definition of Ready)

Checklist of preconditions before work can begin:

- [ ] [Data/access/environment requirement]
- [ ] [Test data/fixtures ready]
- [ ] [Dependencies installed/available]
- [ ] [Stakeholder approval on approach]

## Milestones

| ID | Description | Success Criteria | Target |
|----|-------------|------------------|--------|
| M1 | Architecture & skeleton | [Criteria] | T+0 |
| M2 | Core feature(s) | [Criteria] | T+[N] |
| M3 | Tests & hardening | [Criteria] | T+[N+M] |
| M4 | Packaging & deploy | [Criteria] | T+[N+M+P] |
| M5 | Observability & docs | [Criteria] | T+[N+M+P+Q] |

## Work Breakdown

**Execute in strict order.**

### M1: Architecture & Skeleton

| ID | Task | Estimate | Dependencies | Files/Interfaces |
|----|------|----------|--------------|------------------|
| M1.T1 | [Specific action: what to do, not how] | [time] | - | `[path]` |
| | **Acceptance:** [Specific verification] | | | |
| M1.T2 | [Specific action] | [time] | M1.T1 | `[path]` |
| | **Acceptance:** [Specific verification] | | | |

### M2: Core Feature(s)

| ID | Task | Estimate | Dependencies | Files/Interfaces |
|----|------|----------|--------------|------------------|
| M2.T1 | [Specific action] | [time] | M1 complete | `[path]` |
| | **Acceptance:** [Specific verification] | | | |

### M3: Tests & Hardening

| ID | Task | Estimate | Dependencies | Files/Interfaces |
|----|------|----------|--------------|------------------|
| M3.T1 | [Specific action] | [time] | M2 complete | `[path]` |
| | **Acceptance:** [Specific verification] | | | |

### M4: Packaging & Deploy

| ID | Task | Estimate | Dependencies | Files/Interfaces |
|----|------|----------|--------------|------------------|
| M4.T1 | [Specific action] | [time] | M3 complete | `[path]` |
| | **Acceptance:** [Specific verification] | | | |

### M5: Observability & Docs

| ID | Task | Estimate | Dependencies | Files/Interfaces |
|----|------|----------|--------------|------------------|
| M5.T1 | [Specific action] | [time] | M4 complete | `[path]` |
| | **Acceptance:** [Specific verification] | | | |

## Risks & Mitigations

| Risk | Impact | Likelihood | Mitigation | Trigger |
|------|--------|------------|------------|---------|
| [Description] | H/M/L | H/M/L | [Prevention/reduction] | [Escalation point] |

## Test Strategy

**Maximum one test file per milestone.** Additional tests are out of scope.

| Milestone | Approach | Test File(s) |
|-----------|----------|--------------|
| M1 | [Unit/integration] | `[path]` |
| M2 | [Approach] | `[path]` |
| M3 | [Approach] | `[path]` |

## Alternative Approach (Optional)

Include ONLY if a significant decision has a viable alternative:

| Decision | Selected | Alternative | Rationale |
|----------|----------|-------------|-----------|
| [Area] | [Choice] | [Other option] | [Why selected/rejected] |

Default: no alternatives—maintain singular focus on execution.

## References

- Research document: `memory-bank/research/<file>.md`
- Key code locations: `[file:line]`
- External documentation: `[links]`
- Related tickets/PRs: `[refs]`

## Drift Notes

_If repository state changed since research:_
- Modified files: `[list]`
- Re-verification needed: `[items]`

Step 5: Final Summary

Output completion summary:

✅ Plan Created: memory-bank/plan/YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS_<topic>.md

Summary:
- Milestones: [N]
- Total Tasks: [N]
- Critical Gates: [list]
- Estimated Duration: [total]

Next: Begin execution with M1 tasks

Constraints

Subagent Usage

If additional analysis is needed during planning:

With subagents available: Deploy maximum 3 in parallel:

Without subagents: Follow the workflow in order manually:

1. Read research document completely
2. Identify and list all open questions
3. If critical: ask user for clarification
4. If deferrable: document as assumptions with risk flags
5. Proceed to generate the plan