Workflow Plan

5-phase planning workflow that orchestrates session discovery, context gathering, conflict resolution, and task generation to produce implementation plans (IMPL_PLAN.md, task JSONs, TODO_LIST.md).

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Workflow Plan Orchestrator (SKILL.md)                           │
│  → Pure coordinator: Execute phases, parse outputs, pass context │
└───────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                │
    ┌───────────┼───────────┬───────────┬───────────┐
    ↓           ↓           ↓           ↓           ↓
┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐
│ Phase 1 │ │ Phase 2 │ │ Phase 3 │ │Phase 3.5│ │ Phase 4 │
│ Session │ │ Context │ │Conflict │ │  Gate   │ │  Task   │
│Discovery│ │ Gather  │ │Resolve  │ │(Optional)│ │Generate │
└─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘
     ↓           ↓           ↓                       ↓
  sessionId   contextPath  resolved             IMPL_PLAN.md
              conflict_risk artifacts            task JSONs
                                                 TODO_LIST.md

Key Design Principles

1. Pure Orchestrator: Execute phases in sequence, parse outputs, pass context between them
2. Auto-Continue: All phases run autonomously without user intervention between phases
3. Task Attachment Model: Sub-tasks are attached/collapsed dynamically in TodoWrite
4. Progressive Phase Loading: Phase docs are read on-demand, not all at once
5. Conditional Execution: Phase 3 only executes when conflict_risk >= medium

Auto Mode

When --yes or -y: Auto-continue all phases (skip confirmations), use recommended conflict resolutions.

Execution Flow

Input Parsing:
   └─ Convert user input to structured format (GOAL/SCOPE/CONTEXT)

Phase 1: Session Discovery
   └─ Ref: phases/01-session-discovery.md
      └─ Output: sessionId (WFS-xxx)

Phase 2: Context Gathering
   └─ Ref: phases/02-context-gathering.md
      ├─ Tasks attached: Analyze structure → Identify integration → Generate package
      └─ Output: contextPath + conflict_risk

Phase 3: Conflict Resolution
   └─ Decision (conflict_risk check):
      ├─ conflict_risk ≥ medium → Ref: phases/03-conflict-resolution.md
      │   ├─ Tasks attached: Detect conflicts → Present to user → Apply strategies
      │   └─ Output: Modified brainstorm artifacts
      └─ conflict_risk < medium → Skip to Phase 4

Phase 4: Task Generation
   └─ Ref: phases/04-task-generation.md
      └─ Output: IMPL_PLAN.md, task JSONs, TODO_LIST.md

Return:
   └─ Summary with recommended next steps

Phase Reference Documents (read on-demand when phase executes):

Core Rules

1. Start Immediately: First action is TodoWrite initialization, second action is Phase 1 execution
2. No Preliminary Analysis: Do not read files, analyze structure, or gather context before Phase 1
3. Parse Every Output: Extract required data from each phase output for next phase
4. Auto-Continue via TodoList: Check TodoList status to execute next pending phase automatically
5. Track Progress: Update TodoWrite dynamically with task attachment/collapse pattern
6. Progressive Phase Loading: Read phase docs ONLY when that phase is about to execute
7. DO NOT STOP: Continuous multi-phase workflow. After completing each phase, immediately proceed to next

Input Processing

Convert User Input to Structured Format:

1. Simple Text → Structure it:

   User: "Build authentication system"
   
   Structured:
   GOAL: Build authentication system
   SCOPE: Core authentication features
   CONTEXT: New implementation
   

2. Detailed Text → Extract components:

   User: "Add JWT authentication with email/password login and token refresh"
   
   Structured:
   GOAL: Implement JWT-based authentication
   SCOPE: Email/password login, token generation, token refresh endpoints
   CONTEXT: JWT token-based security, refresh token rotation
   

3. File Reference (e.g., requirements.md) → Read and structure:

   • Read file content
   • Extract goal, scope, requirements
   • Format into structured description

Data Flow

User Input (task description)
    ↓
[Convert to Structured Format]
    ↓ Structured Description:
    ↓   GOAL: [objective]
    ↓   SCOPE: [boundaries]
    ↓   CONTEXT: [background]
    ↓
Phase 1: session:start --auto "structured-description"
    ↓ Output: sessionId
    ↓ Write: planning-notes.md (User Intent section)
    ↓
Phase 2: context-gather --session sessionId "structured-description"
    ↓ Input: sessionId + structured description
    ↓ Output: contextPath (context-package.json with prioritized_context) + conflict_risk
    ↓ Update: planning-notes.md (Context Findings + Consolidated Constraints)
    ↓
Phase 3: conflict-resolution [AUTO-TRIGGERED if conflict_risk ≥ medium]
    ↓ Input: sessionId + contextPath + conflict_risk
    ↓ Output: Modified brainstorm artifacts
    ↓ Update: planning-notes.md (Conflict Decisions + Consolidated Constraints)
    ↓ Skip if conflict_risk is none/low → proceed directly to Phase 4
    ↓
Phase 4: task-generate-agent --session sessionId
    ↓ Input: sessionId + planning-notes.md + context-package.json + brainstorm artifacts
    ↓ Output: IMPL_PLAN.md, task JSONs, TODO_LIST.md
    ↓
Return summary to user

Session Memory Flow: Each phase receives session ID, which provides access to:

• Previous task summaries
• Existing context and analysis
• Brainstorming artifacts (potentially modified by Phase 3)
• Session-specific configuration

TodoWrite Pattern

Core Concept: Dynamic task attachment and collapse for real-time visibility into workflow execution.

Key Principles

1. Task Attachment (when phase executed):

   • Sub-command’s internal tasks are attached to orchestrator’s TodoWrite
   • Phase 2, 3: Multiple sub-tasks attached (e.g., Phase 2.1, 2.2, 2.3)
   • Phase 4: Single agent task attached
   • First attached task marked as in_progress, others as pending
   • Orchestrator executes these attached tasks sequentially

2. Task Collapse (after sub-tasks complete):

   • Applies to Phase 2, 3: Remove detailed sub-tasks from TodoWrite
   • Collapse to high-level phase summary
   • Phase 4: No collapse needed (single task, just mark completed)
   • Maintains clean orchestrator-level view

3. Continuous Execution:

   • After completion, automatically proceed to next pending phase
   • No user intervention required between phases
   • TodoWrite dynamically reflects current execution state

Lifecycle: Initial pending tasks → Phase executed (tasks ATTACHED) → Sub-tasks executed sequentially → Phase completed (tasks COLLAPSED) → Next phase begins → Repeat until all phases complete.

Phase-Specific TodoWrite Updates

Phase 2 (Tasks Attached):

[
  {"content": "Phase 1: Session Discovery", "status": "completed"},
  {"content": "Phase 2: Context Gathering", "status": "in_progress"},
  {"content": "  → Analyze codebase structure", "status": "in_progress"},
  {"content": "  → Identify integration points", "status": "pending"},
  {"content": "  → Generate context package", "status": "pending"},
  {"content": "Phase 4: Task Generation", "status": "pending"}
]

Phase 2 (Collapsed):

[
  {"content": "Phase 1: Session Discovery", "status": "completed"},
  {"content": "Phase 2: Context Gathering", "status": "completed"},
  {"content": "Phase 4: Task Generation", "status": "pending"}
]

Phase 3 (Conditional, Tasks Attached):

[
  {"content": "Phase 1: Session Discovery", "status": "completed"},
  {"content": "Phase 2: Context Gathering", "status": "completed"},
  {"content": "Phase 3: Conflict Resolution", "status": "in_progress"},
  {"content": "  → Detect conflicts with CLI analysis", "status": "in_progress"},
  {"content": "  → Present conflicts to user", "status": "pending"},
  {"content": "  → Apply resolution strategies", "status": "pending"},
  {"content": "Phase 4: Task Generation", "status": "pending"}
]

Planning Notes Template

After Phase 1, create planning-notes.md with this structure:

# Planning Notes

**Session**: ${sessionId}
**Created**: ${timestamp}

## User Intent (Phase 1)

- **GOAL**: ${userGoal}
- **KEY_CONSTRAINTS**: ${userConstraints}

---

## Context Findings (Phase 2)
(To be filled by context-gather)

## Conflict Decisions (Phase 3)
(To be filled if conflicts detected)

## Consolidated Constraints (Phase 4 Input)
1. ${userConstraints}

---

## Task Generation (Phase 4)
(To be filled by action-planning-agent)

## N+1 Context
### Decisions
| Decision | Rationale | Revisit? |
|----------|-----------|----------|

### Deferred
- [ ] (For N+1)

Post-Phase Updates

After Phase 2

Read context-package to extract key findings, update planning-notes.md:

• Context Findings (Phase 2): CRITICAL_FILES, ARCHITECTURE, CONFLICT_RISK, CONSTRAINTS
• Consolidated Constraints: Append Phase 2 constraints

After Phase 3

If executed, read conflict-resolution.json, update planning-notes.md:

• Conflict Decisions (Phase 3): RESOLVED, MODIFIED_ARTIFACTS, CONSTRAINTS
• Consolidated Constraints: Append Phase 3 planning constraints

Memory State Check

After Phase 3, evaluate context window usage. If memory usage is high (>120K tokens):

Skill(skill="compact")

Phase 4 User Decision

After Phase 4 completes, present user with action choices:

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "Planning complete. What would you like to do next?",
    header: "Next Action",
    multiSelect: false,
    options: [
      {
        label: "Verify Plan Quality (Recommended)",
        description: "Run quality verification to catch issues before execution."
      },
      {
        label: "Start Execution",
        description: "Begin implementing tasks immediately."
      },
      {
        label: "Review Status Only",
        description: "View task breakdown and session status without taking further action."
      }
    ]
  }]
});

// Execute based on user choice
// "Verify Plan Quality" → Skill(skill="workflow:plan-verify", args="--session " + sessionId)
// "Start Execution" → Skill(skill="workflow:execute", args="--session " + sessionId)
// "Review Status Only" → Skill(skill="workflow:status", args="--session " + sessionId)

Error Handling

• Parsing Failure: If output parsing fails, retry command once, then report error
• Validation Failure: If validation fails, report which file/data is missing
• Command Failure: Keep phase in_progress, report error to user, do not proceed to next phase

Coordinator Checklist

• Pre-Phase: Convert user input to structured format (GOAL/SCOPE/CONTEXT)
• Initialize TodoWrite before any command (Phase 3 added dynamically after Phase 2)
• Execute Phase 1 immediately with structured description
• Parse session ID from Phase 1 output, store in memory
• Pass session ID and structured description to Phase 2 command
• Parse context path from Phase 2 output, store in memory
• Extract conflict_risk from context-package.json: Determine Phase 3 execution
• If conflict_risk >= medium: Launch Phase 3 with sessionId and contextPath
• If conflict_risk is none/low: Skip Phase 3, proceed directly to Phase 4
• Build Phase 4 command: /workflow:tools:task-generate-agent --session [sessionId]
• Verify all Phase 4 outputs
• Update TodoWrite after each phase
• After each phase, automatically continue to next phase based on TodoList status

Related Commands

Prerequisite Commands:

• /workflow:brainstorm:artifacts – Optional: Generate role-based analyses before planning
• /workflow:brainstorm:synthesis – Optional: Refine brainstorm analyses with clarifications

Follow-up Commands:

• /workflow:plan-verify – Recommended: Verify plan quality before execution
• /workflow:status – Review task breakdown and current progress
• /workflow:execute – Begin implementation of generated tasks