Writing Plans

Writing Plans

Overview

Write comprehensive implementation plans assuming the engineer has zero context for our codebase and questionable taste. Document everything they need to know: which files to touch for each task, code, testing, docs they might need to check, how to test it. Give them the whole plan as bite-sized tasks. DRY. YAGNI. TDD. Frequent commits.

Assume they are a skilled developer, but know almost nothing about our toolset or problem domain. Assume they don't know good test design very well.

Announce at start: "I'm using the writing-plans skill to create the implementation plan."

Context: This should be run in a dedicated worktree (created by brainstorming skill).

Save plans to: docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature-name>.md

Bite-Sized Task Granularity

Each step is one action (2-5 minutes):

• "Write the failing test" - step
• "Run it to make sure it fails" - step
• "Implement the minimal code to make the test pass" - step
• "Run the tests and make sure they pass" - step
• "Commit" - step

Plan Document Header

Every plan MUST start with this header:

# [Feature Name] Implementation Plan

> **For Claude:** REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use superpowers:executing-plans to implement this plan task-by-task.

**Goal:** [One sentence describing what this builds]

**Architecture:** [2-3 sentences about approach]

**Tech Stack:** [Key technologies/libraries]

---

Task Structure

### Task N: [Component Name]

**Files:**
- Create: `exact/path/to/file.py`
- Modify: `exact/path/to/existing.py:123-145`
- Test: `tests/exact/path/to/test.py`

**Step 1: Write the failing test**

```python
def test_specific_behavior():
    result = function(input)
    assert result == expected

Step 2: Run test to verify it fails

Run: pytest tests/path/test.py::test_name -v Expected: FAIL with "function not defined"

Step 3: Write minimal implementation

def function(input):
    return expected

Step 4: Run test to verify it passes

Run: pytest tests/path/test.py::test_name -v Expected: PASS

Step 5: Commit

git add tests/path/test.py src/path/file.py
git commit -m "feat: add specific feature"

## Remember
- Exact file paths always
- Complete code in plan (not "add validation")
- Exact commands with expected output
- Reference relevant skills with @ syntax
- DRY, YAGNI, TDD, frequent commits

## Execution Handoff

After saving the plan, present execution options:

Plan complete and saved to docs/plans/${filename}.md.

Recommended Next Step: /cc:parse-plan

Decompose this plan into parallel task files. This enables:

• Up to 2 tasks executing concurrently per batch
• ~40% faster execution for parallelizable plans
• 90% context reduction per task

Best for: Plans with 4+ tasks

Alternative: Execute Without Decomposition

Use sequential execution via subagent-driven-development.

• Best for simple plans (1-3 tasks)
• Simpler flow, no decomposition overhead
• One task at a time

Important

Decomposition is REQUIRED for parallel execution. Always decompose plans with 4+ tasks to enable parallel-subagent-driven-development.

Which approach? A) Decompose plan (/cc:parse-plan) - Recommended B) Execute sequentially without decomposition C) Exit (run manually later)

**If user chooses A:**
- Invoke `decomposing-plans` skill
- Proceed with decomposition workflow

**If user chooses B:**
- Invoke `subagent-driven-development` skill
- Execute tasks sequentially from monolithic plan

**If user chooses C:**
- Exit workflow
- User can run `/cc:parse-plan` or execution commands later