recursive-planning

name	recursive-planning
description	How to decompose projects into wave plans -- module identification, dependency mapping, wave assignment, contract guidance, deliverables.
when_to_use	Designing wave plans for recursive development.

Recursive Planning

Decomposition Process

1. Survey -- greenfield or existing? For existing: read README, types, error classes, test setup, conventions. These are constraints.
2. Identify domains -- genuinely different kinds of work (parsing vs querying vs aggregating vs formatting)
3. Map dependencies -- which domains need outputs from others? Dependencies flow through interfaces only.
4. Assign waves -- no dependencies -> Wave 1. Depends on Wave 1 -> Wave 2. Wave 0 is always contracts/setup. Integration is final wave.
5. Assign scopes -- each module gets a directory or file set. Zero overlap between parallel modules.
6. Specify conventions -- language, test framework, type system, DI pattern, path handling, package manager
7. Plan deliverables -- README, CHANGELOG, --version, runtime version access, coverage config

Module Split Criteria

See recursive-development skill for split principle and examples. Goal: natural, best-practice file structure.

Contract Guidance

Wave 0 agent designs contracts. The plan specifies what they should cover:

• Enumerate capabilities -- list all operations/formats/modes, not just common ones
• Error handling -- "Parsers yield Record | ParseError" not "Parsers raise on bad input"
• Batch interfaces -- "Aggregator takes list[AggregationSpec]" not single-item
• Injectable I/O -- "Formatters accept a write callable"
• Types only -- contracts file has protocols, dataclasses, enums, type aliases, constants. No callable stubs.
• Exception hierarchy -- base exception + subtypes per failure domain
• Logging -- modules use named loggers, CLI configures at entry point

For existing projects: extend existing contracts, match established patterns.

Wave Plan Format

Save to .claude/workspace/wave-plan-<project-name>.md.

## Implementation Plan -- `<name>` <description>
### Issue Summary
### Language & Conventions
### Language-Specific Standards
(Standards shaped to this project's language and domain -- specifics that all agents must follow.
These go beyond generic conventions. Think about what a senior developer in this language would
insist on in a code review.)
### Existing Patterns (existing projects only)
### Chosen Approach

## Wave 0: Contracts & Project Setup
## Wave 1: <name> (N parallel)
### Module A -- Owns: <scope>, Responsibility: <one line>
## Wave 2: <name>
### Module C -- Owns: <scope>, Depends on: <interfaces>, Responsibility: <one line>
## Wave N: Integration + Documentation (README.md, CHANGELOG.md)

## File Ownership Map
### Complexity: Simple | Moderate | Complex