Plan

Mode Selection

Interview Mode (broad/vague requests)

1. Classify the request: Broad (vague verbs, no specific files, touches 3+ areas) triggers interview mode
2. Ask one focused question using AskUserQuestion for preferences, scope, and constraints
3. Gather codebase facts first: Before asking "what patterns does your code use?", spawn an explore agent to find out, then ask informed follow-up questions
4. Build on answers: Each question builds on the previous answer
5. Consult Analyst (Opus) for hidden requirements, edge cases, and risks
6. Create plan when the user signals readiness: "create the plan", "I'm ready", "make it a work plan"

Direct Mode (detailed requests)

1. Quick Analysis: Optional brief Analyst consultation
2. Create plan: Generate comprehensive work plan immediately
3. Review (optional): Critic review if requested

Consensus Mode (--consensus / "ralplan")

RALPLAN-DR modes: Short (default, bounded structure) and Deliberate (for --deliberate or explicit high-risk requests). Both modes keep the same Planner -> Architect -> Critic sequence. The workflow auto-proceeds through planning steps (Planner/Architect/Critic) but outputs the final plan without executing.

1. Planner creates initial plan and a compact RALPLAN-DR summary before any Architect review. The summary MUST include:
   • Principles (3-5)
   • Decision Drivers (top 3)
   • Viable Options (>=2) with bounded pros/cons for each option
   • If only one viable option remains, an explicit invalidation rationale for the alternatives that were rejected
   • In deliberate mode: a pre-mortem (3 failure scenarios) and an expanded test plan covering unit / integration / e2e / observability
2. User feedback (--interactive only): If running with --interactive, MUST use AskUserQuestion to present the draft plan plus the RALPLAN-DR Principles / Decision Drivers / Options summary for early direction alignment with these options:
   • Proceed to review — send to Architect and Critic for evaluation
   • Request changes — return to step 1 with user feedback incorporated
   • Skip review — go directly to final approval (step 7) If NOT running with --interactive, automatically proceed to review (step 3).
3. Architect reviews for architectural soundness using ask_codex with agent_role: "architect". Architect review MUST include: strongest steelman counterargument (antithesis) against the favored option, at least one meaningful tradeoff tension, and (when possible) a synthesis path. In deliberate mode, Architect should explicitly flag principle violations. Wait for this step to complete before proceeding to step 4. Do NOT run steps 3 and 4 in parallel.
4. Critic evaluates against quality criteria using ask_codex with agent_role: "critic". Critic MUST verify principle-option consistency, fair alternative exploration, risk mitigation clarity, testable acceptance criteria, and concrete verification steps. Critic MUST explicitly reject shallow alternatives, driver contradictions, vague risks, or weak verification. In deliberate mode, Critic MUST reject missing/weak pre-mortem or missing/weak expanded test plan. Run only after step 3 is complete.
5. Re-review loop (max 5 iterations): If Critic rejects or iterates, execute this closed loop: a. Collect all feedback from Architect + Critic b. Pass feedback to Planner to produce a revised plan c. Return to Step 3 — Architect reviews the revised plan d. Return to Step 4 — Critic evaluates the revised plan e. Repeat until Critic approves OR max 5 iterations reached f. If max iterations reached without approval, present the best version to user via AskUserQuestion with note that expert consensus was not reached
6. Apply improvements: When reviewers approve with improvement suggestions, merge all accepted improvements into the plan file before proceeding. Final consensus output MUST include an ADR section with: Decision, Drivers, Alternatives considered, Why chosen, Consequences, Follow-ups. Specifically: a. Collect all improvement suggestions from Architect and Critic responses b. Deduplicate and categorize the suggestions c. Update the plan file in .omx/plans/ with the accepted improvements (add missing details, refine steps, strengthen acceptance criteria, ADR updates, etc.) d. Note which improvements were applied in a brief changelog section at the end of the plan
7. On Critic approval (with improvements applied): (--interactive only) If running with --interactive, use AskUserQuestion to present the plan with these options:
   • Approve and execute — proceed to implementation via ralph+ultrawork
   • Approve and implement via team — proceed to implementation via coordinated parallel team agents
   • Request changes — return to step 1 with user feedback
   • Reject — discard the plan entirely If NOT running with --interactive, output the final approved plan and stop. Do NOT auto-execute.
8. (--interactive only) User chooses via the structured AskUserQuestion UI (never ask for approval in plain text)
9. On user approval (--interactive only):
   • Approve and execute: MUST invoke $ralph with the approved plan path from .omx/plans/ as context. Do NOT implement directly. Do NOT edit source code files in the planning agent. The ralph skill handles execution via ultrawork parallel agents.
   • Approve and implement via team: MUST invoke $team with the approved plan path from .omx/plans/ as context. Do NOT implement directly. The team skill coordinates parallel agents across the staged pipeline for faster execution on large tasks.

Review Mode (--review)

1. Read plan file from .omx/plans/
2. Evaluate via Critic using ask_codex with agent_role: "critic"
3. Return verdict: APPROVED, REVISE (with specific feedback), or REJECT (replanning required)

Plan Output Format

Every plan includes:

• Requirements Summary
• Acceptance Criteria (testable)
• Implementation Steps (with file references)
• Risks and Mitigations
• Verification Steps
• For consensus/ralplan: RALPLAN-DR summary (Principles, Decision Drivers, Options)
• For consensus/ralplan final output: ADR (Decision, Drivers, Alternatives considered, Why chosen, Consequences, Follow-ups)
• For deliberate consensus mode: Pre-mortem (3 scenarios) and Expanded Test Plan (unit/integration/e2e/observability)

Plans are saved to .omx/plans/. Drafts go to .omx/drafts/.

When presenting design choices during interviews, chunk them:

1. Overview (2-3 sentences)
2. Option A with trade-offs
3. [Wait for user reaction]
4. Option B with trade-offs
5. [Wait for user reaction]
6. Recommendation (only after options discussed)

Format for each option:

### Option A: [Name]
**Approach:** [1 sentence]
**Pros:** [bullets]
**Cons:** [bullets]

What's your reaction to this approach?

Question Classification

Before asking any interview question, classify it:

Review Quality Criteria

Deprecation Notice

The separate /planner, /ralplan, and /review skills have been merged into $plan. All workflows (interview, direct, consensus, review) are available through $plan.