Executing Plans Review

Verification and Review Phase Details

This document contains detailed verification, drift detection, and snapshot logic for the executing-plans skill.

Snapshot Saving

Save context snapshots to enable recovery after compaction events. This preserves the executing-plans skill's state and progress across context compaction.

When to Save

Call saveSnapshot() at these critical points:

• After each wave of tasks completes
• After full test suite passes (post-wave verification)
• After each individual task completes (per-task verification)
• Before asking for user feedback
• At major milestones (all tasks complete)

Save Function

FUNCTION saveSnapshot():
  session = current session name

  // Read current state via MCP
  Tool: mcp__plugin_mermaid-collab_mermaid__get_session_state
  Args: { "project": "<cwd>", "session": session }
  Returns: state = { "phase": "...", "completedTasks": [...], "pendingTasks": [...], ... }

  // Save snapshot via MCP
  Tool: mcp__plugin_mermaid-collab_mermaid__save_snapshot
  Args: {
    "project": "<cwd>",
    "session": session,
    "activeSkill": "executing-plans",
    "currentStep": "implementation",
    "inProgressItem": null,
    "pendingQuestion": null,
    "recentContext": [
      {
        "type": "progress",
        "content": "Completed tasks: {state.completedTasks}. Pending: {state.pendingTasks}. Last wave: {wave number}"
      }
    ]
  }
  // Note: version and timestamp are automatically added

  // Update collab state to mark snapshot exists
  Tool: mcp__plugin_mermaid-collab_mermaid__update_session_state
  Args: {
    "project": "<cwd>",
    "session": session,
    "hasSnapshot": true,
    "lastSnapshot": "<current-ISO-timestamp>"
  }

Save Points with Examples

After wave completes with test suite passing:

[Wave N tasks all complete]
-> Run full test suite: npm run test:ci
-> If tests FAIL: Stop, report failure (don't save)
-> If tests PASS:
   - saveSnapshot()
   - Update task diagram (all Wave N tasks -> "completed")
   - Show wave completion report
   - Proceed to next wave

Example snapshot after Wave 1:

{
  "version": 1,
  "timestamp": "2026-01-21T14:35:22Z",
  "activeSkill": "executing-plans",
  "currentStep": "implementation",
  "completedTasks": ["task-planning-skill", "gather-goals-types", "brainstorming-cleanup"],
  "pendingTasks": ["collab-routing", "executing-plans-tdd-skip", "pre-compact-script"],
  "recentContext": [
    {
      "type": "progress",
      "content": "Completed tasks: task-planning-skill, gather-goals-types, brainstorming-cleanup. Pending: 3 tasks. Last wave: 1"
    }
  ]
}

After each task completes (per-task verification):

[Task execution completes]
-> Compare implementation against design doc
-> Check for drift
-> If verification PASSES:
   - saveSnapshot() with updated completedTasks list
   - Unlock dependent tasks
   - Proceed to next ready task
-> If verification FAILS:
   - Keep task as in_progress
   - Request fixes before saving

Before batch completion report:

[All ready tasks complete, about to report to user]
-> saveSnapshot()
-> Show progress report with completed tasks
-> Show which tasks are ready next
-> Wait for user feedback

At final completion:

[All tasks complete and verified]
-> saveSnapshot()
-> Show implementation summary
-> Invoke finishing-a-development-branch skill
-> (After finishing-a-development-branch completes: cleanup collab session)

Step 2.5: Per-Task Verification (Collab Workflow)

When within a collab workflow, run verification after each task completes:

Verification Steps:

1. After task completion, trigger verify-phase hook (if available)
2. Compare task output against design doc specification
3. Check for drift:
   • Are implemented interfaces matching design?
   • Any undocumented additions?
   • Missing components?

On Verification Success:

• Mark task as verified
• Update collab-state.json: move task from pendingTasks to completedTasks
• Update lastActivity timestamp
• Unlock dependent tasks
• Proceed to next ready tasks

FUNCTION markTaskComplete(taskId):
  session = current session name

  // 1. Read current state
  Tool: mcp__plugin_mermaid-collab_mermaid__get_session_state
  Args: { "project": "<cwd>", "session": session }
  Returns: state = { "completedTasks": [...], "pendingTasks": [...], ... }

  // 2. Move task from pending to completed
  newCompleted = [...state.completedTasks, taskId]
  newPending = state.pendingTasks.filter(t => t !== taskId)

  // 3. Update session state via MCP (updates progress bar)
  Tool: mcp__plugin_mermaid-collab_mermaid__update_session_state
  Args: {
    "project": "<cwd>",
    "session": session,
    "completedTasks": newCompleted,
    "pendingTasks": newPending
  }

  // 4. Update task execution diagram (visual progress)
  // Change from executing (blue) to completed (green)
  Tool: mcp__plugin_mermaid-collab_mermaid__patch_diagram
  Args: {
    "project": "<cwd>",
    "session": session,
    "id": "task-execution",
    "old_string": "style {taskId} fill:#bbdefb,stroke:#1976d2,stroke-width:3px",  // executing
    "new_string": "style {taskId} fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32"                    // completed
  }
  // If patch fails (task wasn't marked executing), try from waiting state:
  // old_string: "style {taskId} fill:#e0e0e0,stroke:#9e9e9e"  // waiting

IMPORTANT: You MUST call markTaskComplete(taskId) after each task passes verification. This:

1. Updates the progress bar in the UI (completedTasks/pendingTasks)
2. Updates the task execution diagram (visual green checkmark)

On Verification Failure:

• Keep task as in_progress (not completed)
• Show drift report with pros/cons
• Ask user: accept drift, reject and fix, or review each
• If drift accepted: update design doc, then unlock dependents
• If drift rejected: fix implementation before proceeding

Unlocking Dependents:

for each task T where T.depends-on includes completed_task:
  if all(T.depends-on) are completed:
    move T from pending to ready

Step 2.6: Drift Detection

After implementer reports completion, check for drift:

Step 1: Read design doc and implementation

1. Read design doc: Tool: mcp__plugin_mermaid-collab_mermaid__get_document Args: { "project": "", "session": "", "id": "design" }

2. Read implemented files (from task's file list)

Step 2: Compare implementation to design

FOR each function/type in the task's Interface section: Compare: - Function name matches? - Parameter names and types match? - Return type matches? - Logic follows Pseudocode steps?

IF mismatch found: ADD to drift_list: { type: "signature" | "logic" | "scope" | "missing", design_says: , implementation_has: , file: , line: }

Step 3: If drift detected, analyze and present

IF drift_list is not empty: FOR each drift in drift_list:

Analyze:
  severity = assess_severity(drift)  // contract vs detail
  intent = assess_intent(drift)      // improvement vs misunderstanding
  precedent = assess_precedent(drift) // will this encourage more drift?
  reversibility = assess_reversibility(drift)

Generate pros:
  - [benefit of keeping this change]
  - [another benefit if applicable]

Generate cons:
  - [drawback of keeping this change]
  - [another drawback if applicable]

Determine recommendation:
  IF drift.type == "signature": recommend = "REJECT"
  ELSE IF drift.type == "logic" AND same_result: recommend = "ACCEPT"
  ELSE IF drift.type == "scope": recommend = "REJECT"
  ELSE IF drift.type == "missing": recommend = "REJECT"

Present to user:
  ```
  DRIFT DETECTED in task [task-id]:

  ## What Changed
  | Type | Design Says | Implementation Has |
  |------|-------------|-------------------|
  | {drift.type} | {drift.design_says} | {drift.implementation_has} |

  ## Analysis

  **Pros of keeping this change:**
  - {pro1}
  - {pro2}

  **Cons of keeping this change:**
  - {con1}
  - {con2}

  **Suggested choice:** {recommend}
  **Reasoning:** {explanation based on severity, intent, precedent, reversibility}

  ## Your Decision
  1. Reject - revert and re-implement per design
  2. Accept - update design doc to include this change
  3. Discuss - need more context before deciding
  ```

Step 4: Handle user decision

IF user chooses "Reject":

• Do NOT mark task as complete
• Tell implementer to re-implement per design
• Return to Step 2 (re-execute task)

IF user chooses "Accept":

• Read current design doc
• Update relevant section to match implementation
• Write updated design doc via MCP
• Log decision in Decision Log section
• Mark task as complete
• Proceed to next task

IF user chooses "Discuss":

• Pause execution
• Gather more context from user
• Re-present options after discussion

Step 5: No drift case

IF drift_list is empty:

• Mark task as complete
• Proceed to next task

Proposing Design Doc Changes

When drift is detected and requires a design doc update, use the proposed tag:

For section-level changes:

<!-- status: proposed: <drift-description> -->
<new-section-content>

For inline changes:

<!-- propose-start: <drift-description> --><new-text><!-- propose-end -->

Process:

1. Identify the unique text at the insertion point
2. Use patch to insert proposed content:

   Tool: mcp__plugin_mermaid-collab_mermaid__patch_document
   Args: {
     "project": "<cwd>",
     "session": "<session>",
     "id": "design",
     "old_string": "<unique text at insertion point>",
     "new_string": "<unique text><!-- propose-start: description --><content><!-- propose-end -->"
   }
   

3. If patch fails (not unique), fall back to full update: mcp__plugin_mermaid-collab_mermaid__update_document({ "id": "design", "content": <updated> })
4. Notify user: "Proposed change visible in design doc (cyan). Accept/reject in mermaid-collab UI."
5. Wait for user decision before proceeding

After user decision:

• If accepted: proposed marker removed, content remains -> continue execution
• If rejected: content removed -> address the drift differently or stop