structured-plan

Structured Plan

A checklist-driven planning workflow that ensures plans are research-validated, broken into atomic tasks, complete, and self-verifying.

Workflow Overview

Phase A: Clarification (if needed)
    ↓
Phase B: Iterative Refinement (7 steps)
    ↓
Exit Plan Mode → Implementation

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Phase A: Clarification

If the user's prompt is vague or ambiguous, use AskUserQuestion to clarify before proceeding. Ask about:

• Scope boundaries (what's in/out)
• Technology choices (if multiple options exist)
• Acceptance criteria (how to know it's done)

Once intent is clear, proceed to Phase B.

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Phase B: Iterative Refinement

After drafting an initial plan, apply this checklist. Edit the plan file after each step (not one-shot).

Step 1: Research Validation

Validate your approach against official documentation.

• Use WebSearch for patterns, best practices, common gotchas
• Use Context7 for framework/library docs
  • If not loaded: mcp-add context7 (lean mode) or skip to WebSearch
• Add Best Practices References section to plan with links

## Best Practices References

- [Pattern name](url) - key insight
- [Library docs](url) - relevant section

→ Edit plan file

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Step 2: Task Breakdown

Break the plan into atomic, committable tasks.

• Create numbered tasks (Task 1, Task 2, ...)
• Each task must have: Files, Verify, Commit
• Use TaskCreate/TaskUpdate tools to track progress during implementation

See references/task-template.md for format.

→ Edit plan file

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Step 3: Task Dependencies

Define execution order with a dependency diagram.

• Use → for sequential dependencies
• Use commas for parallel tasks
• Make dependencies explicit, not implicit

Task 1 → Task 2 → Task 3
Task 4, Task 5 (parallel, after Task 3)

→ Edit plan file

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Step 4: Shared Infrastructure

Identify code that would be duplicated across tasks and define shared locations.