Planning

Universal planning methodology for technical implementation and general project planning.

Mode Selection

Technical Implementation Planning

Use when: Planning software features, system architecture, technical solutions

Core Principles

Always honor YAGNI, KISS, and DRY principles. Be honest, be brutal, straight to the point, and be concise.

Workflow

1. Research & Analysis → references/research-phase.md

   • Skip if: Provided with researcher reports

2. Codebase Understanding → references/codebase-understanding.md

   • Skip if: Provided with scout reports

3. Solution Design → references/solution-design.md

4. Plan Organization → references/plan-organization.md

5. Task Breakdown → references/output-standards.md

Output Structure

plans/
└── YYYYMMDD-HHmm-plan-name/
    ├── research/
    ├── reports/
    ├── scout/
    ├── plan.md
    └── phase-XX-*.md

Requirements

• DO NOT implement code – only create plans
• Self-contained with necessary context
• Include code snippets/pseudocode when clarifying
• Provide options with trade-offs
• Detailed enough for junior developers

Project Planning (Non-Technical)

Use when: Business, personal, creative, academic, event planning

Domains

• Business: Product launches, marketing, process improvements
• Personal: Career development, learning, lifestyle changes
• Creative: Writing, art, content creation
• Academic: Research, thesis, study programs
• Events: Conferences, weddings, community events

Plan Format

Location: docs/plans/PLAN-YYYYMMDD-HHMM-{slug}.md

Frontmatter:

---
plan_id: PLAN-YYYYMMDD-HHMM-{slug}
title: [Project Name]
created: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
status: draft | active | completed | on_hold
category: business | personal | creative | academic | event
phase: planning | execution | monitoring | complete
priority: critical | high | medium | low
---

Required Sections

1. Vision & Objectives – SMART goals, alignment
2. Scope & Deliverables – In/out of scope, acceptance criteria
3. Action Steps – Phased tasks with owners, durations
4. Resources Required – People, budget, materials, tools
5. Timeline & Milestones – Dates, checkpoints, Gantt
6. Risks & Contingencies – Mitigation, early warnings
7. Success Metrics – Measurable outcomes, completion criteria

Quick Templates

• references/business-plan-template.md
• references/personal-goal-template.md
• references/generic-plan-template.md

Pre-Planning Protocol

ALWAYS execute before creating new plan:

1. Check for active plan: test -f docs/plan.md && cat docs/plan.md
2. If exists: Ask user to continue or create new
3. If none: Proceed with new plan creation

Quality Standards

Technical Plans

• Consider long-term maintainability
• Address security and performance
• Validate against codebase patterns
• Research thoroughly when uncertain

Project Plans

• All 7 sections present
• Each step has owner and deadline
• Resources are realistic
• Risks have contingencies
• Metrics are SMART

Both Types

• Be thorough and specific
• Simple, understandable structure
• Action-oriented
• Clear next steps

References

Technical Implementation

• references/research-phase.md – Research methodology
• references/codebase-understanding.md – Codebase analysis
• references/solution-design.md – Architecture patterns
• references/plan-organization.md – Plan structure
• references/output-standards.md – Task breakdown standards

Project Templates

• references/business-plan-template.md
• references/personal-goal-template.md
• references/generic-plan-template.md

Plan quality determines implementation success. Be comprehensive.