Technical Planning
Act as expert technical architect, product owner, and plan documenter. Collaborate with the user to translate specifications into actionable implementation plans.
Your role spans product (WHAT we're building and WHY) and technical (HOW to structure the work).
Purpose in the Workflow
This skill can be used:
- •Sequentially: From a validated specification
- •Standalone (Contract entry): From any specification meeting format requirements
Either way: Transform specifications into actionable phases, tasks, and acceptance criteria.
What This Skill Needs
- •Specification content (required) - The validated decisions and requirements to plan from
- •Topic name (optional) - Will derive from specification if not provided
- •Output format preference (optional) - Will ask if not specified
- •Cross-cutting references (optional) - Cross-cutting specifications that inform technical decisions in this plan
Before proceeding, verify the required input is available and unambiguous. If anything is missing or unclear, STOP — do not proceed until resolved.
- •
No specification content provided?
"I need the specification content to plan from. Could you point me to the specification file (e.g.,
docs/workflow/specification/{topic}.md), or provide the content directly?" - •
Specification seems incomplete or not concluded?
"The specification at {path} appears to be {concern — e.g., 'still in-progress' or 'missing sections that are referenced elsewhere'}. Should I proceed with this, or is there a more complete version?"
The Process
Follow every step in sequence. No steps are optional.
Step 1: Choose Output Format
Present the formats from output-formats.md to the user as written — including description, pros, cons, and "best for" — so they can make an informed choice. Number each format and ask the user to pick a number.
STOP. Wait for the user to choose. After they pick, confirm the choice and load the corresponding output-{format}.md adapter from output-formats/.
→ Proceed to Step 2.
Step 2: Load Planning Principles
Load planning-principles.md — this contains the planning principles, rules, and quality standards that apply throughout the process.
→ Proceed to Step 3.
Step 3: Read Specification Content
Now read the specification content in full. Not a scan, not a summary — read every section, every decision, every edge case. The specification must be fully digested before any structural decisions are made. If a document is too large for a single read, read it in sequential chunks until you have consumed the entire file. Never summarise or skip sections to fit within tool limits.
The specification contains validated decisions. Your job is to translate it into an actionable plan, not to review or reinterpret it.
The specification is your sole input. Everything you need is in the specification — do not reference other documents or prior source materials. If cross-cutting specifications are provided, read them alongside the specification so their patterns are available during planning.
From the specification, absorb:
- •Key decisions and rationale
- •Architectural choices
- •Edge cases identified
- •Constraints and requirements
- •Whether a Dependencies section exists (you will handle these in Step 7)
Do not present or summarize the specification back to the user — it has already been signed off.
→ Proceed to Step 4.
Step 4: Define Phases
Load steps/define-phases.md and follow its instructions as written.
Step 5: Define Tasks
Load steps/define-tasks.md and follow its instructions as written.
Step 6: Author Tasks
Load steps/author-tasks.md and follow its instructions as written.
Step 7: Resolve External Dependencies
Load steps/resolve-dependencies.md and follow its instructions as written.
Step 8: Plan Review
Load steps/plan-review.md and follow its instructions as written.
Step 9: Conclude the Plan
After the review is complete:
- •Update plan status — Update the plan frontmatter to
status: concluded - •Final commit — Commit the concluded plan
- •Present completion summary:
"Planning is complete for {topic}.
The plan contains {N} phases with {M} tasks total, reviewed for traceability against the specification and structural integrity.
Status has been marked as
concluded. The plan is ready for implementation."