Writing Plans
Overview
This skill dispatches a specialized agent to write comprehensive implementation plans for engineers with zero codebase context.
Announce at start: "I'm using the ring:writing-plans skill to create the implementation plan."
Context: This should be run in a dedicated worktree (created by ring:brainstorming skill).
The Process
Step 1: Dispatch Write-Plan Agent
Dispatch via Task(subagent_type: "ring:write-plan", model: "opus") with:
- •Instructions to create bite-sized tasks (2-5 min each)
- •Include exact file paths, complete code, verification steps
- •Save to
docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature-name>.md
Step 2: Validate Plan
After the plan is saved, validate it:
python3 default/lib/validate-plan-precedent.py docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature>.md
Interpretation:
- •
PASS→ Plan is safe to execute - •
WARNING→ Plan has issues to address- •Review the warnings in the output
- •Update plan to address the issues
- •Re-run validation until PASS
Step 3: Ask User About Execution
Ask via AskUserQuestion: "Execute now?" Options:
- •Execute now →
ring:subagent-driven-development - •Parallel session → user opens new session with
ring:executing-plans - •Save for later → report location and end
Why Use an Agent?
Context preservation (reading many files keeps supervisor clean) | Model power (Opus for comprehensive planning) | Separation of concerns (supervisor orchestrates, agent plans)
What the Agent Does
Explore codebase → identify files → break into bite-sized tasks (2-5 min) → write complete code → include exact commands → add review checkpoints → verify Zero-Context Test → save to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature>.md → report back
Requirements for Plans
Every plan: Header (goal, architecture, tech stack) | Verification commands with expected output | Exact file paths (never "somewhere in src") | Complete code (never "add validation here") | Bite-sized steps with verification | Failure recovery | Review checkpoints | Zero-Context Test | Recommended agents per task
Agent Selection
| Task Type | Agent |
|---|---|
| Backend API/services | backend-engineer-{golang,typescript} |
| Frontend/BFF | frontend-bff-engineer-typescript |
| Infra/CI/CD | ring:devops-engineer |
| Testing | ring:qa-analyst |
| Reliability | ring:sre |
| Fallback | general-purpose (built-in, no prefix) |
Execution Options Reference
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Execute now | Fresh subagent per task, code review between tasks → ring:subagent-driven-development |
| Parallel session | User opens new session, batch execution with human review → ring:executing-plans |
| Save for later | Plan at docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature>.md, manual review before execution |
Required Patterns
This skill uses these universal patterns:
- •State Tracking: See
skills/shared-patterns/state-tracking.md - •Failure Recovery: See
skills/shared-patterns/failure-recovery.md - •Exit Criteria: See
skills/shared-patterns/exit-criteria.md - •TodoWrite: See
skills/shared-patterns/todowrite-integration.md
Apply ALL patterns when using this skill.