Overview

Planning Patterns provides a structured, end-to-end approach that starts with research and brainstorming and leads to a phased plan with milestones, risk mitigations, and acceptance criteria. This plan then feeds BUILD execution through plan-to-build continuity, ensuring traceability and actionability.

How This Skill Works

It guides four core phases: Research, Brainstorming, Plan Creation, and Review Gate. Plans are saved to docs/plans/ and are referenced in session memory so the BUILD workflow can read the plan during requirements clarification, with the component-builder following the documented phases.

When to Use It

• Before starting a complex project to align on approach and scope.
• When evaluating multiple approaches or build-vs-buy decisions.
• When creating a phased plan with milestones, dependencies, and acceptance criteria.
• When gating progress with a Review Gate and ensuring plan completeness (>=80%).
• When you need plan-to-build continuity by saving plans to docs/plans and feeding BUILD workflow.

Quick Start

1. Step 1: Run Research Phase to search for existing solutions, patterns, libraries, and pitfalls.
2. Step 2: Hold Brainstorming to generate at least 3 approaches and rank by feasibility and risk.
3. Step 3: Create a phased Plan with milestones, dependencies, risk mitigations, and TDD strategy; save to docs/plans and pass the Review Gate.

Best Practices

• Start with comprehensive research to identify patterns and pitfalls.
• In brainstorming, generate at least 3 alternative approaches and evaluate trade-offs.
• Define acceptance criteria per phase and map dependencies clearly.
• Include explicit risk mitigations and a clear TDD strategy for each coding phase.
• Use the Review Gate to verify completeness and ensure plan readiness (>80%).

Example Use Cases

• Planning a new feature with 3 alternative implementations and a phased rollout.
• Evaluating libraries and tools before committing to a solution.
• Creating a risk-aware migration plan with milestones and mitigations.
• Coordinating plan-to-build continuity by saving plans in docs/plans for BUILD.
• Aligning build and documentation during requirements clarification.

Frequently Asked Questions