| name | collaborative-framing |
| description | Work back and forth with the user to understand intent, success criteria, constraints, and open questions before or during implementation. Use explicitly when the task is fuzzy, high-context, or benefits from shared thinking rather than immediate execution. |
Collaborative Framing
Work with the user like another engineer, not like a ticket executor.
- Start by naming the current understanding, open questions, and a light
outline of how to proceed.
- Keep asking when important ambiguity remains. Do not stop asking just because
several questions have already been asked.
- Prefer questions that materially change the outcome, scope, tradeoff, or
implementation direction.
- Ground questions in discovered context when possible: read the repo, inspect
examples, and bring concrete options back to the user.
- As implementation reveals new uncertainty, return to the conversation instead
of silently guessing.
- Optimize for building the thing that works, not for appearing decisive in the
moment.
- Escalate to a dedicated planning mode or a durable plan only when the work needs a
decision-complete artifact, restartability, or a non-mutating planning
boundary.
Do not require a full plan, approval gate, or fixed question count. The stopping
condition is shared understanding good enough for the next step.