Diverse Plan
Use this only when alternative designs can change the implementation decision. It is separate from models-consensus: the user chose a planning exercise, not a council. Never invoke the council from this skill.
Outcome
Return one executable plan. It names the chosen approach, rejected alternatives, files, tests, risks, and the effective seats used. A branch is useful only when it explores a materially different premise.
Routing
Read
task-shaped-model-routing.md,
model-roster.md, and
host-model-execution.md
before selecting seats. Use the semantic route selected there, not a legacy
seat name or pinned model id.
For several competing approaches, use Astra at ultra for branch exploration
and Fable at max for the independent deep reasoning branch. For an ambiguous
architecture or design question, Fable at max leads the analysis; for a
developer technical problem, Astra at max leads it. Use Opus at supported
xhigh only for a selected precision critique. Do not use Terra or Luna for a
diverse planning branch.
Use two blind branch seats by default. Add a third branch only when a different boundary, failure mode, or delivery tradeoff is still unresolved. Select domain lenses only for surfaces the change touches:
| Need | Route |
|---|---|
| Competing technical approaches or plan reconciliation | Astra ultra, paired with Fable max |
| Ambiguous architecture, research, or trade-off analysis | Fable max, paired with Astra max when execution details need testing |
| Focused precision review | Opus at supported xhigh only when the route explicitly selects it |
| Explicit implementation plan and execution gaps | Approved implementation route |
| Regression, concurrency, security, maintainability, or tests | Matching reviewer route from the shared routing |
Resolve the exact native model through the active host first. Start each blind
branch in its own isolated persistent subagent or supported task context. Use a
runner only for a foreign model or a native route that cannot meet the approved
plan, then capture its own session for later critique or synthesis turns.
Probe only the selected capabilities. Preserve seat fidelity: a missing
seat is unavailable, never silently replaced. Continue only with two distinct
available branch seats. If that quorum is unavailable, return the missing
prerequisites and the single-model to-prd path instead.
Route Approval
Before branch dispatch, present the exact route table: branch or lens, seat, current model, effort, role, execution path, call count, and unavailable action. Ask the user to approve the table or name changes. Do not launch a branch or critique before that approval. Record the approved table with the plan artifacts and use only those routes.
Workflow
- Write one neutral brief with the goal, scope, constraints, acceptance contract, relevant files, and what a plan must decide. Ask one question only when different answers would produce different plans.
- Launch the blind branches with the same brief. Give each one premise: smallest viable change, cleanest design, or most robust failure handling. Each returns approach, files, tradeoff, risks, tests, and rollback point. Keep that branch context for its later critique and reply; a new opening context is a different branch.
- Compare branches against the acceptance contract. Run only the relevant engineering lenses. Each critique must identify the strongest point, material weakness, and a concrete test or check.
- Synthesize the record into one plan. Every adopted element traces to a branch or resolved critique. Preserve a material unresolved disagreement as a risk or open question.
- Run one bounded execution-completeness check. Patch the plan once if it exposes a material omission. Do not create an open-ended planning loop.
Synthesize and enrich
Use the approved synthesis route. It chooses the plan spine, incorporates verified improvements, and records why the strongest alternative lost. Keep the synthesis context separate from each blind opening. If the selected route is unavailable, stop and report the missing route or use only a user-approved alternate.
Execution completeness check
Use the approved implementation-review route to test whether an implementer can follow the plan without inventing a design decision. Check scope, file placement, acceptance criteria, commands, tests, rollout risk, and rollback. One material gap gets one targeted correction round; otherwise stop.
Output
Present:
- the change and chosen approach;
- approaches considered and the deciding tradeoff;
- ordered implementation steps, files, tests, and verification;
- risks, rollback, and open questions;
- the seat and lens table, including effective receipts, unavailable seats, and fallbacks.
Write an artifact only when the user asks. Hand the approved plan to to-prd so it becomes the workflow's approved product record; then to-tasks slices that PRD. Do not implement it here.