Planning Implementation

When to use this skill

• •When the user has a spec or requirements for a multi-step task.
• •Before writing any code for a complex feature.
• •When you need to break down a large task into bite-sized steps.

Workflow

• • Understand the goal and architecture.
• • Create a dedicated plan file in docs/plans/.
• • Define the plan header with Goal, Architecture, and Tech Stack.
• • Break down work into bite-sized tasks (2-5 mins each).
• • Review the plan with the user.

Instructions

Assumptions: Write plans implementation assuming the engineer has zero context. Document everything: files to touch, code to write, tests to run.

Bite-Sized Task Granularity: Each step is one atomic action:

1. •"Write the failing test"
2. •"Run it to make sure it fails"
3. •"Implement the minimal code"
4. •"Run the tests and make sure they pass"
5. •"Commit"

Plan File Location: docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature-name>.md

Plan Header Template:

# [Feature Name] Implementation Plan
**Goal:** [One sentence describing what this builds]
**Architecture:** [2-3 sentences about approach]
**Tech Stack:** [Key technologies/libraries]

Task Structure Template:

### Task N: [Component Name]
**Files:**
- Create: `exact/path/to/file.py`
- Modify: `exact/path/to/existing.py:123-145`

**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"

**Principals**:
- Exact file paths always.
- Complete code in plan (not "add validation").
- Exact commands with expected output.
- DRY, YAGNI, TDD.