Implementation Planning Skill

Guidelines for creating effective implementation plans.

When to Use Planning

Plan When

• Feature spans multiple files/components
• Architecture decisions needed
• Multiple valid approaches exist
• Dependencies need coordination
• Risk of rework is high

Skip Planning When

• Single file change
• Bug fix with clear solution
• Following existing pattern exactly
• Simple CRUD operation

Planning Phases

1. Requirements Clarification

• What exactly needs to be built?
• What are the acceptance criteria?
• What constraints exist? (performance, security, compatibility)
• Is TDD expected?

2. Codebase Analysis

• Explore existing structure
• Find similar implementations
• Identify patterns and conventions
• Map dependencies

3. Solution Design

• Break into logical phases
• Order by dependencies
• Define atomic tasks
• Add verification steps

4. Documentation

• Save structured plan
• Include specific file paths
• Add verification commands

Plan File Location

.claude/plans/{YYYYMMDD}-{HHMMSS}-{slug}.md

Analysis Strategies

Standard Analysis

1. Read CLAUDE.md for conventions
2. Use Grep/Glob to find similar code
3. Read key files to understand patterns
4. Map where new code should live

Serena-Enhanced Analysis

1. get_symbols_overview() - file structure
2. find_symbol() - locate classes/functions
3. find_referencing_symbols() - dependency mapping
4. read_memory() - project knowledge

Task Granularity

Good task:

### Task 1.1: Create User Model
- **File**: app/Models/User.php
- **Action**: Create
- **Verification**: `php artisan tinker` → `new User()` works

Too vague:

### Task 1.1: Set up user system
- **Action**: Create everything for users

Verification Types

Reference

For detailed plan format, see references/plan-format.md.