Planning Guidelines

Workflow for project planning, architecture decisions, and technical design.

When to Use

• •Starting new projects
• •Choosing technologies/frameworks
• •Designing system architecture
• •Planning refactoring efforts
• •Making technical decisions
• •Evaluating trade-offs

Planning Process

1. Understand Requirements

Ask:

• •What problem are we solving?
• •Who are the users?
• •What are the constraints? (time, performance, scale)
• •What are the non-negotiables?

2. Define Success Criteria

Establish:

• •Measurable outcomes
• •Performance targets
• •Quality standards
• •Timeline constraints

3. Choose Technologies

Decision Framework

Evaluate based on:

1. •Type-safety: Does it support e2e type-safety?
2. •Developer experience: How easy to use and maintain?
3. •Ecosystem: Libraries, tools, community support?
4. •Performance: Meets requirements?
5. •Team knowledge: Learning curve vs timeline?

Prefer Technologies That Support

• •e2e type-safety
• •Built-in observability/monitoring
• •Active maintenance
• •Strong TypeScript support
• •Testing capabilities

4. Design Architecture

Core Principles

• •KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
• •YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It)
• •Avoid premature optimization
• •No over-engineering

Architecture Checklist

• • e2e type-safety (API → Database)
• • Error monitoring/observability
• • Automated testing strategy
• • Accessibility (a11y, WCAG 2.0)
• • Security (OWASP best practices)
• • Scalability path (if needed)

Common Patterns

Frontend (React)

• •React Query for data fetching
• •Suspense boundaries for loading states
• •Error boundaries with retry
• •TypeScript strict mode
• •Component library (shadcn/ui, etc.)

Backend (Node.js/TypeScript)

• •Query builder (Prisma, Drizzle, Kysely)
• •Type-safe API layer (tRPC, GraphQL)
• •Error monitoring (Sentry, LogRocket)
• •Validation library (Zod, Yup)

Database

• •Choose based on data model:
  • •Relational: PostgreSQL (with Prisma/Drizzle)
  • •Document: MongoDB (with type-safe client)
  • •Key-value: Redis
• •Prioritize type-safe query builders

5. Plan Structure

File Organization

src/
├── features/          # Feature-based organization
│   ├── auth/
│   ├── payments/
│   └── users/
├── lib/              # Shared utilities
├── types/            # Shared types
└── config/           # Configuration

Principles:

• •Co-locate related files
• •Feature-based over layer-based
• •No premature abstraction
• •Single-file folders should be files

Naming Strategy

Plan for:

• •Descriptive, specific names
• •Consistent conventions (kebab-case files, camelCase functions)
• •Context through nesting
• •No abbreviations

6. Plan Testing Strategy

Coverage Goals

• •Critical paths: 100%
• •Business logic: 80%+
• •UI components: Key interactions

Test Types

• •Unit: Pure functions, utilities
• •Integration: API endpoints, database queries
• •E2E: Critical user flows

Testing Rules

• •Test behavior, not implementation
• •Write tests for bugs before fixing
• •Use descriptive test names (3rd person verbs)

7. Plan Observability

Monitoring Requirements

• • Error tracking (Sentry, Rollbar)
• • Performance monitoring (Web Vitals)
• • User analytics (if applicable)
• • Logging strategy
• • Alerting thresholds

Instrumentation

• •Use Higher Order Functions for monitoring
• •Consistent error formatting
• •Structured logging
• •Performance profiling hooks

8. Security Planning

OWASP Checklist

• • Input validation
• • SQL injection prevention (query builders)
• • XSS prevention
• • CSRF protection
• • Authentication/authorization
• • Secure dependencies
• • Environment variables handling

9. Accessibility Planning

WCAG 2.0 Guidelines

• • Keyboard navigation
• • Screen reader support
• • Color contrast
• • Focus indicators
• • ARIA labels
• • Semantic HTML

Decision Making

Technology Choices

When to Choose

Simple projects:

• •Stick to basics
• •Proven technologies
• •Minimal dependencies

Complex projects:

• •Invest in type-safety
• •Strong tooling
• •Robust ecosystem

Red Flags

• •No TypeScript support
• •Poor documentation
• •Inactive maintenance
• •Complex API for simple tasks
• •Requires many plugins

Avoid Over-Engineering

Signs of Over-Engineering

• •Abstractions used once
• •Frameworks for simple tasks
• •Premature optimization
• •Complex patterns for simple problems
• •"Future-proofing" without requirements

Keep It Simple

• •Start minimal, add as needed
• •One abstraction layer at a time
• •Refactor when patterns emerge (2-3 uses)
• •Concrete before abstract

Planning Document Template

Structure technical plans as:

Project: [Name]

Goal

[One paragraph: what and why]

Success Criteria

• •[Measurable outcome 1]
• •[Measurable outcome 2]

Technology Stack

• •Frontend: [Choice + justification]
• •Backend: [Choice + justification]
• •Database: [Choice + justification]
• •Hosting: [Choice + justification]

Architecture

[High-level diagram or description]

Key decisions:

• •
• •

File Structure

[Proposed structure]

Testing Strategy

• •Unit: [Scope]
• •Integration: [Scope]
• •E2E: [Scope]

Observability

• •Error tracking: [Tool]
• •Monitoring: [Tool]
• •Logging: [Strategy]

Security

• •[Key consideration 1]
• •[Key consideration 2]

Accessibility

• •[Key consideration 1]
• •[Key consideration 2]

Timeline

• •Phase 1: [Scope + duration]
• •Phase 2: [Scope + duration]

Risks

• •
• •

Review Before Starting

• • Requirements clearly defined
• • Success criteria measurable
• • Technology choices justified
• • Architecture supports requirements
• • Type-safety end-to-end
• • Testing strategy defined
• • Observability planned
• • Security considered
• • Accessibility addressed
• • Timeline realistic
• • No over-engineering
• • KISS and YAGNI applied