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Use when deep-work Phase 3 design decisions are complete. Maps chosen decisions to concrete file changes organized into implementable phases.
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Based on SOC occupation classification
Use when starting the RPI flow and you want to deeply understand a question, system, or feature by reading the codebase before planning.
Use when starting the RPI flow and you want to deeply understand a question, system, or feature by reading the codebase before planning.
Use when starting a new deep-work task. Decomposes a task description into objective research questions that avoid premature solutioning. Phase 1 of the deep-work pipeline.
Use when you have research questions from deep-work Phase 1. Objectively investigates the codebase to answer pasted questions without access to the original task description.
Use when deep-work Phase 2 research is complete. Combines research findings with the original task to explore design options, evaluate tradeoffs, and make decisions interactively.
Use when deep-work Phase 3 design decisions are complete. Maps chosen decisions to concrete file changes organized into implementable phases.
| name | dw-04-outline |
| description | Use when deep-work Phase 3 design decisions are complete. Maps chosen decisions to concrete file changes organized into implementable phases. |
Translate design decisions into a concrete change map — the "what and where" without the "how exactly." A table of contents for the implementation plan.
Announce at start: "Starting deep-work Phase 4: Structure Outline."
"$SKILL_BASE_DIR/setup.sh" "$ARGUMENTS" and parse stdout for REPO, TOPIC_SLUG, ARTIFACT_DIR. $SKILL_BASE_DIR is the "Base directory for this skill" path shown at the top of this prompt.
MISSING_SLUG on stderr), ask user via AskUserQuestion for the topic slug, then re-run with the slug.03-design-discussion.md exists → if not: "Design decisions not found. Complete Phases 1-3 first." Stop.02-research.md exists → if not: "Research not found. Complete Phases 1-2 first." Stop.03-design-discussion.md — extract:
02-research.md — focus on file paths and code locations for line rangesFor each decided design question, determine:
Organize changes into sequential phases where:
Per phase include: Scope, Files touched, Dependencies, Validation command.
| File | Action | Phase(s) | Reason |
|---|
Pull forward from design discussion: incomplete research, unverified assumptions, mitigations.
Write 04-structure-outline.md to the artifact directory:
---
phase: structure-outline
date: <today>
topic: <topic-slug>
repo: <repo>
git_sha: <HEAD>
input_artifacts: [02-research.md, 03-design-discussion.md]
phases_count: <N>
total_files_touched: <N>
status: complete
---
## Change Summary
<2-3 sentences describing the total change set>
## Phases
### Phase 1: <name> — <one-line goal>
**Scope:** <what this phase accomplishes>
**Files:**
- `path/to/file` (NEW) — <what it contains>
- `path/to/existing` (MODIFY :line-range) — <what changes>
**Dependencies:** None | Phase <N>
**Validation:** <exact command and expected result>
## File Impact Summary
## Risk Register
## What We're NOT Doing
Present outline. Ask: "Does this scope and phasing look right?"
.state.json with current_phase: 4, completed_phases: [1, 2, 3, 4]/dw-05-plan <topic-slug> in a fresh conversation to continue."