Feature Plan

Feature Plan

Plan a feature implementation by understanding the project architecture, decomposing work into service-level and role-level packages, and producing an actionable plan. This is the planning phase — no code is written here. Output feeds into /feature-dev for execution.

1. Receive Feature Requirements

Gather the feature specification from the user:

• Accepted formats: PRD, ARD, design doc, implementation plan, ticket/issue, verbal description
• Read every provided document thoroughly
• Extract and organize:
  • Goal: What the feature does (1–2 sentences)
  • Requirements: Functional (what it does) and non-functional (performance, security, compliance)
  • Acceptance criteria: How to verify the feature works
  • Constraints: Deadlines, compatibility, dependencies on other teams/services
  • Out of scope: What this feature explicitly does NOT cover

If the specification is ambiguous or incomplete — ask before proceeding. Do not assume missing requirements.

2. Understand Project Architecture

Read and internalize the project's structure to plan correctly:

2a. Read Architecture Documentation

Read the following files (if they exist):

1. ARCHITECTURE.md — system overview, component boundaries, data flow, service map
2. CLAUDE.md (root) — tech stack declaration, project structure, conventions
3. Subdirectory CLAUDE.md files — per-service/module context and stack info

Extract:

• Service/module boundaries (monolith modules, microservices, frontend/backend split)
• Tech stack per service (language, framework, database, messaging)
• Communication patterns (REST, gRPC, events, shared DB)
• Data flow relevant to the feature
• Deployment topology (monorepo vs polyrepo, shared vs independent deploys)

2b. Scan Project Structure

If documentation is incomplete or absent, scan the filesystem:

// turbo
ls -la (or dir for Windows)

Look for:

• Monorepo signals: packages/, services/, apps/, root package.json with workspaces, Nx/Turborepo config
• Polyrepo signals: Single service, one CLAUDE.md, one tech stack
• Infrastructure: terraform/, infra/, k8s/, helm/, docker-compose.yml
• Dependency files: package.json, pom.xml, requirements.txt, go.mod, *.csproj per service

2c. Build Service Map

Create a map of services/modules the feature touches:

## Service Map

| Service/Module | Tech Stack | Role | Affected by Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| [name] | [lang + framework] | @[role] | [yes/no — how] |
| [name] | [lang + framework] | @[role] | [yes/no — how] |
| infrastructure | Terraform / K8s | Agent(devops-engineer) | [yes/no — how] |

3. Decompose into Work Packages

Break the feature into work packages — each package is a self-contained unit of work scoped to one service/module and one role.

3a. Identify Work Streams

Group changes by responsibility:

Only include work streams that the feature actually requires. Do not add empty streams.

3b. Define Work Packages

For each work stream, create ordered work packages:

### [Work Stream]: [Service Name] — @[role]

#### WP-[N]: [Title]
- **Description**: What to implement
- **Files**: Expected files to create/modify
- **Dependencies**: Which WPs must complete first
- **Acceptance criteria**: How to verify this WP is done
- **Complexity**: S (hours) / M (day) / L (days) / XL (week+)

Rules for decomposition:

• Each WP is independently testable
• WPs within a stream are ordered by dependency (foundations first)
• Cross-service dependencies are explicitly marked
• Database migrations always come before code that uses them
• API contracts defined before consumer implementation

3c. Define Integration Points

For features spanning multiple services, explicitly document:

4. Dependency Graph

Visualize the execution order:

## Dependency Graph

WP-1: [DB migration]
  └─► WP-2: [Backend API]
        ├─► WP-3: [Frontend integration]
        └─► WP-4: [Infrastructure/config]
WP-5: [Tests] ← depends on WP-2, WP-3

Identify:

• Critical path: Longest chain of dependent WPs — determines minimum timeline
• Parallelizable: WPs that can be worked on simultaneously by different roles
• Blockers: External dependencies (other teams, third-party APIs, approvals)

5. Risk Assessment

Evaluate risks for each work stream:

Common risks to evaluate:

• Breaking changes to existing APIs (backward compatibility)
• Database migration on large tables (performance, downtime)
• Cross-service coordination (deployment order matters)
• New dependencies or services (operational complexity)
• Security implications (new auth flows, data exposure)

6. Present the Plan

Compile the full plan and present to the user:

# Feature Plan: [Feature Name]

## Goal
[1–2 sentences]

## Architecture Impact
- Services affected: [list]
- New services: [if any]
- Database changes: [yes/no — summary]
- Infrastructure changes: [yes/no — summary]

## Work Packages

### Stream 1: [name] — @[role]
| WP | Title | Complexity | Dependencies | Status |
|----|-------|------------|--------------|--------|
| WP-1 | [title] | M | — | planned |
| WP-2 | [title] | S | WP-1 | planned |

### Stream 2: [name] — @[role]
| WP | Title | Complexity | Dependencies | Status |
|----|-------|------------|--------------|--------|
| WP-3 | [title] | L | WP-1 | planned |

## Critical Path
WP-1 → WP-2 → WP-5 (estimated: [timeframe])

## Risks
[table from Step 5]

## Next Step
Run `/feature-dev` per work package, applying the designated role.

Wait for user approval. The user may reorder, split, merge, or remove work packages.

7. Update FEATURES.md

After the plan is approved, apply Agent(product-manager) and update FEATURES.md:

1. If FEATURES.md does not exist — create it at the project root
2. Add or update the feature entry with status planned
3. If the feature has a PRD or spec — save it in features/ directory and link from FEATURES.md

8. Handoff to Implementation

After approval, guide execution:

• Sequential (single developer): Execute WPs in dependency order using /feature-dev for each
• Parallel (multiple developers/sessions): Assign independent WPs to separate sessions, each applying the appropriate role
• Track WP status: planned → in_progress → done
• Update the plan if scope changes during implementation

Integration

• Input: PRD, ARD, design doc, or user request
• Preceded by: /feature-design (produces PRD), /architecture (produces ARD, design docs, API contracts, engineering estimates)
• Followed by: /feature-dev (implementation per work package)
• Roles: Agent(product-manager) (requirements), Agent(solution-architect) / Agent(system-architect) (architecture), Agent(cloud-architect) (cloud platform), Agent(devops-architect) (CI/CD architecture), stack-specific roles (work packages)
• Skills: context-engineering skill (context pipeline design, RAG, memory, agent harness — for AI/LLM feature work packages)