Plan

Plan: $ARGUMENTS

Note: The current year is 2026. Use this when dating plans and searching for recent documentation.

Transform feature descriptions, bug reports, or improvement ideas into well-structured plan documents and decompose them into beads tasks.

Feature Description

$ARGUMENTS

If the feature description above is empty, ask the user: "What would you like to plan? Please describe the feature, bug fix, or improvement you have in mind."

Do not proceed until you have a clear feature description from the user.

Step 0: Idea Refinement

Check for brainstorm output first:

Before asking questions, look for recent brainstorm documents in docs/brainstorms/ that match this feature:

ls -la docs/brainstorms/*.md 2>/dev/null | head -10

Relevance criteria: A brainstorm is relevant if:

• The topic (from filename or content) semantically matches the feature description
• Created within the last 14 days
• If multiple candidates match, use the most recent one

If a relevant brainstorm exists:

1. Read the brainstorm document
2. Announce: "Found brainstorm from [date]: [topic]. Using as context for planning."
3. Extract key decisions, chosen approach, and open questions
4. Skip the idea refinement questions below - the brainstorm already answered WHAT to build
5. Use brainstorm decisions as input to the research phase

If multiple brainstorms could match: Use AskUserQuestion tool to ask which brainstorm to use, or whether to proceed without one.

If no brainstorm found (or not relevant), run idea refinement:

Refine the idea through collaborative dialogue using the AskUserQuestion tool:

• Ask questions one at a time to understand the idea fully
• Prefer multiple choice questions when natural options exist
• Focus on understanding: purpose, constraints, and success criteria
• Continue until the idea is clear OR user says "proceed"

Gather signals for research decision. During refinement, note:

• User's familiarity: Do they know the codebase patterns? Are they pointing to examples?
• User's intent: Speed vs thoroughness? Exploration vs execution?
• Topic risk: Security, payments, external APIs warrant more caution
• Uncertainty level: Is the approach clear or open-ended?

Skip option: If the feature description is already detailed, offer: "Your description is clear. Should I proceed with research, or would you like to refine it further?"

Main Tasks

Step 1: Local Research (Always Runs - Parallel)

Run these agents in parallel to gather local context:

• Task repo-research-analyst(feature_description)
• Task learnings-researcher(feature_description)

What to look for:

• Repo research: existing patterns, CLAUDE.md guidance, technology familiarity, pattern consistency
• Learnings: documented solutions in docs/solutions/ that might apply (gotchas, patterns, lessons learned)

These findings inform the next step.

Step 1.5: Research Decision

Based on signals from Step 0 and findings from Step 1, decide on external research.

High-risk topics -> always research. Security, payments, external APIs, data privacy. The cost of missing something is too high. This takes precedence over speed signals.

Strong local context -> skip external research. Codebase has good patterns, CLAUDE.md has guidance, user knows what they want. External research adds little value.

Uncertainty or unfamiliar territory -> research. User is exploring, codebase has no examples, new technology. External perspective is valuable.

Announce the decision and proceed. Brief explanation, then continue. User can redirect if needed.

Examples:

• "Your codebase has solid patterns for this. Proceeding without external research."
• "This involves payment processing, so I'll research current best practices first."

Step 1.5b: External Research (Conditional)

Only run if Step 1.5 indicates external research is valuable.

Run these agents in parallel:

• Task best-practices-researcher(feature_description)
• Task framework-docs-researcher(feature_description)

Step 1.6: Consolidate Research

After all research steps complete, consolidate findings:

• Document relevant file paths from repo research (e.g., app/services/example_service.rb:42)
• Include relevant institutional learnings from docs/solutions/ (key insights, gotchas to avoid)
• Note external documentation URLs and best practices (if external research was done)
• List related issues or PRs discovered
• Capture CLAUDE.md conventions

Optional validation: Briefly summarize findings and ask if anything looks off or missing before proceeding to planning.

Step 2: Issue Planning & Structure

Title & Categorization:

• Draft clear, searchable title using conventional format (e.g., feat: Add user authentication, fix: Cart total calculation)
• Determine issue type: enhancement, bug, refactor
• Convert title to filename: add today's date prefix, strip prefix colon, kebab-case, add -plan suffix
  • Example: feat: Add User Authentication -> 2026-01-21-feat-add-user-authentication-plan.md
  • Keep it descriptive (3-5 words after prefix) so plans are findable by context

Stakeholder Analysis:

• Identify who will be affected (end users, developers, operations)
• Consider implementation complexity and required expertise

Content Planning:

• Choose appropriate detail level based on complexity and audience
• List all necessary sections for the chosen template
• Gather supporting materials (error logs, screenshots, design mockups)
• Prepare code examples or reproduction steps if applicable

Step 3: SpecFlow Analysis

After planning the issue structure, run SpecFlow Analyzer to validate and refine the feature specification:

• Task spec-flow-analyzer(feature_description, research_findings)

SpecFlow Analyzer Output:

• Review SpecFlow analysis results
• Incorporate any identified gaps or edge cases into the plan
• Update acceptance criteria based on SpecFlow findings

Step 4: Choose Implementation Detail Level

Select how comprehensive the plan should be. Simpler is mostly better.

MINIMAL (Quick Plan)

Best for: Simple bugs, small improvements, clear features

Includes:

• Problem statement or feature description
• Basic acceptance criteria
• Essential context only

Structure:

---
title: [Issue Title]
type: [feat|fix|refactor]
date: YYYY-MM-DD
---

# [Issue Title]

[Brief problem/feature description]

## Acceptance Criteria

- [ ] Core requirement 1
- [ ] Core requirement 2

## Context

[Any critical information]

## MVP

### example_file.rb

```ruby
class Example
  def initialize
    @name = "example"
  end
end
```

## References

- Related issue: #[issue_number]
- Documentation: [relevant_docs_url]

MORE (Standard Plan)

Best for: Most features, complex bugs, team collaboration

Includes everything from MINIMAL plus:

• Detailed background and motivation
• Technical considerations
• Success metrics
• Dependencies and risks
• Basic implementation suggestions

Structure:

---
title: [Issue Title]
type: [feat|fix|refactor]
date: YYYY-MM-DD
---

# [Issue Title]

## Overview

[Comprehensive description]

## Problem Statement / Motivation

[Why this matters]

## Proposed Solution

[High-level approach]

## Technical Considerations

- Architecture impacts
- Performance implications
- Security considerations

## Acceptance Criteria

- [ ] Detailed requirement 1
- [ ] Detailed requirement 2
- [ ] Testing requirements

## Success Metrics

[How we measure success]

## Dependencies & Risks

[What could block or complicate this]

## References & Research

- Similar implementations: [file_path:line_number]
- Best practices: [documentation_url]
- Related PRs: #[pr_number]

A LOT (Comprehensive Plan)

Best for: Major features, architectural changes, complex integrations

Includes everything from MORE plus:

• Detailed implementation plan with phases
• Alternative approaches considered
• Extensive technical specifications
• Resource requirements and timeline
• Future considerations and extensibility
• Risk mitigation strategies
• Documentation requirements

Structure:

---
title: [Issue Title]
type: [feat|fix|refactor]
date: YYYY-MM-DD
---

# [Issue Title]

## Overview

[Executive summary]

## Problem Statement

[Detailed problem analysis]

## Proposed Solution

[Comprehensive solution design]

## Technical Approach

### Architecture

[Detailed technical design]

### Implementation Phases

#### Phase 1: [Foundation]

- Tasks and deliverables
- Success criteria
- Estimated effort

#### Phase 2: [Core Implementation]

- Tasks and deliverables
- Success criteria
- Estimated effort

#### Phase 3: [Polish & Optimization]

- Tasks and deliverables
- Success criteria
- Estimated effort

## Alternative Approaches Considered

[Other solutions evaluated and why rejected]

## Acceptance Criteria

### Functional Requirements

- [ ] Detailed functional criteria

### Non-Functional Requirements

- [ ] Performance targets
- [ ] Security requirements
- [ ] Accessibility standards

### Quality Gates

- [ ] Test coverage requirements
- [ ] Documentation completeness
- [ ] Code review approval

## Success Metrics

[Detailed KPIs and measurement methods]

## Dependencies & Prerequisites

[Detailed dependency analysis]

## Risk Analysis & Mitigation

[Comprehensive risk assessment]

## Resource Requirements

[Team, time, infrastructure needs]

## Future Considerations

[Extensibility and long-term vision]

## Documentation Plan

[What docs need updating]

## References & Research

### Internal References

- Architecture decisions: [file_path:line_number]
- Similar features: [file_path:line_number]
- Configuration: [file_path:line_number]

### External References

- Framework documentation: [url]
- Best practices guide: [url]
- Industry standards: [url]

### Related Work

- Previous PRs: #[pr_numbers]
- Related issues: #[issue_numbers]
- Design documents: [links]

Step 5: Issue Creation & Formatting

Content Formatting:

• Use clear, descriptive headings with proper hierarchy (##, ###)
• Include code examples in triple backticks with language syntax highlighting
• Use task lists (- [ ]) for trackable items
• Add collapsible sections for lengthy logs or optional details using <details> tags
• Add names of files in pseudo code examples and todo lists
• Add an ERD mermaid diagram if applicable for new model changes

Cross-Referencing:

• Link to related issues/PRs using #number format
• Reference specific commits with SHA hashes when relevant
• Add links to external resources with descriptive text

Pre-submission Checklist:

• Title is searchable and descriptive
• All template sections are complete
• Links and references are working
• Acceptance criteria are measurable

Output Format

Filename: Use the date and kebab-case filename from Step 2 Title & Categorization.

docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<type>-<descriptive-name>-plan.md

Examples:

• docs/plans/2026-01-15-feat-user-authentication-flow-plan.md
• docs/plans/2026-02-03-fix-checkout-race-condition-plan.md
• docs/plans/2026-03-10-refactor-api-client-extraction-plan.md
• BAD: docs/plans/2026-01-15-feat-thing-plan.md (not descriptive)
• BAD: docs/plans/2026-01-15-feat-new-feature-plan.md (too vague)
• BAD: docs/plans/2026-01-15-feat: user auth-plan.md (invalid characters)
• BAD: docs/plans/feat-user-auth-plan.md (missing date prefix)

mkdir -p docs/plans

Phase 5: Decompose into Beads

After writing the plan document, decompose into beads tasks.

5.1 Create Parent Epic(s)

bd create "<epic title>" --type epic --priority <P1/P2/P3> --description "<description>"

5.2 Create Features and Tasks

For each feature under an epic:

bd create "<feature title>" --type feature --priority <P1/P2/P3> --description "<description with acceptance criteria>"

For each task under a feature:

bd create "<task title>" --type task --priority <P1/P2/P3> --description "<description with acceptance criteria>"

5.3 Wire Dependencies

bd dep add <child-id> <parent-id>

5.4 Sync

bd sync

5.5 Show Results

bd list
bd ready

Phase 6: Post-Plan Menu

Use AskUserQuestion tool to present options:

Question: "Plan created and decomposed into beads tasks. What would you like to do next?"

Options:

1. Deepen the plan - Run /deepen-plan for more detail and research
2. Review the plan - Run /multi-review for specialized feedback
3. Dispatch workers - Run /dispatch to start parallel execution
4. Work solo - Pick a task with /start-task
5. Create GitHub issue - Push plan to GitHub for team visibility
6. Simplify - Reduce detail level

Based on selection:

• Deepen -> Call /deepen-plan with the plan file path
• Review -> Call /multi-review with the plan file path
• Dispatch -> Call /dispatch
• Work solo -> Call /start-task
• Create GitHub issue -> See "Issue Creation" section below
• Simplify -> Ask "What should I simplify?" then regenerate simpler version

Loop back to options after Simplify changes until user selects an execution path.

Issue Creation

When user selects "Create GitHub issue":

Use the title and type from Step 2 (already in context):

gh issue create --title "<type>: <title>" --body-file <plan_path>

After creation:

• Display the issue URL
• Ask if they want to proceed to /dispatch, /start-task, or /multi-review

NEVER CODE! Just research, plan, and decompose into tasks.