REFINE Phase

Stress-test the plan before committing to specification.

Stress Test Methods

1. Inversion Attack

Argue against the plan:

•"Here's why this will fail: [reasons]"
•"The hidden dependencies are: [list]"
•"This assumes X, but what if X is false?"

Force the user to defend or amend.

2. Edge Case Probing

For each core behavior, ask:

•"What happens when [unusual input]?"
•"What if [dependency] is unavailable?"
•"How does this behave at [scale extreme]?"

Document answers or flag as "needs resolution."

3. Stakeholder Simulation

Roleplay different perspectives:

Skeptical Engineer: "This seems over-engineered. Why not just [simpler approach]?"

Impatient PM: "When will this ship? What's the MVP?"

Confused User: "I don't understand how to [core action]."

Ops On-Call: "How do I debug this at 3am?"

4. Dependency Audit (Height)

List everything the plan depends on:

•External services
•Team knowledge/skills (what capabilities must exist?)
•User behaviors
•Business conditions
•Adjacent domain skills that might block progress

Rate each: stable / risky / unknown

5. Quadrant Stress Test

Probe each quadrant for weaknesses:

Quadrant	Stress Question
Individual Inner	"What understanding gaps exist?"
Collective Inner	"Where might stakeholders disagree?"
Individual Outer	"What artifacts are under-specified?"
Collective Outer	"What system constraints are ignored?"

6. Time Trajectory Check

•"How have similar plans failed historically?"
•"What's changing in this domain that affects the plan?"
•"Does this plan transcend and include current approaches, or just replace them?"

7. Level Check (Depth)

Ask yourself: Is refinement improving the plan, or is the user defending their original idea with better words?

Signs of defensive refinement:

•Adding complexity to protect core assumptions
•Dismissing objections rather than addressing them
•"That won't happen" without evidence

If defensive: return to SPAR.

Output Format

code

## Refinement Summary

**Stress tests passed:**
- [test]: [how addressed]

**Edge cases documented:**
- [case]: [planned handling]

**Dependency risks:**
- [dependency]: [risk level] - [mitigation]

**Plan amendments:**
- [change made based on refinement]

**Unresolved issues:**
- [issue]: [why deferred / needs more info]

**Ready for SPEC phase:** [yes/no]

Exit Criteria

Proceed to SPEC when:

•Major objections have responses (not dismissals)
•Edge cases are documented (even if handling is "error out")
•No high-risk dependencies without mitigation
•Plan text has been updated with refinements