writing-plans

name	writing-plans
description	Use when you have a spec or requirements for a multi-step task, before touching code. Produces comprehensive implementation plans with bite-sized tasks, exact file paths, complete code snippets, and test-first workflow.

Writing Plans

Overview

Write comprehensive implementation plans assuming the engineer has zero context for the codebase. Document everything they need to know: which files to touch for each task, code, testing, docs they might need to check, how to test it. Give them the whole plan as bite-sized tasks. DRY. YAGNI. TDD. Frequent commits.

Assume they are a skilled developer, but know almost nothing about the toolset or problem domain. Assume they don't know good test design very well.

Save plans to: docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature-name>.md

Bite-Sized Task Granularity

Each step is one action (2-5 minutes):

• "Write the failing test" — step
• "Run it to make sure it fails" — step
• "Implement the minimal code to make the test pass" — step
• "Run the tests and make sure they pass" — step
• "Commit" — step

Plan Document Header

Every plan MUST start with this header:

# [Feature Name] Implementation Plan

**Goal:** [One sentence describing what this builds]

**Architecture:** [2-3 sentences about approach]

**Tech Stack:** [Key technologies/libraries]

---

Task Structure

Each task should follow this pattern:

### Task N: [Component Name]

**Files:**
- Create: `exact/path/to/file`
- Modify: `exact/path/to/existing:123-145`
- Test: `tests/exact/path/to/test`

**Step 1: Write the failing test**

[Complete test code]

**Step 2: Run test to verify it fails**

Run: `cargo test <test-selector>`
Expected: FAIL with "[expected error message]"

(Adapt `<test-selector>` to the workspace test runner syntax.)

**Step 3: Write minimal implementation**

[Complete implementation code]

**Step 4: Run test to verify it passes**

Run: `cargo test <test-selector>`
Expected: PASS

**Step 5: Commit**

git add [files]
git commit -m "feat: add specific feature"

Remember

• Exact file paths always
• Complete code in plan (not "add validation")
• Exact commands with expected output
• DRY, YAGNI, TDD, frequent commits

Generated by autoharness | Template: community/skills/writing-plans/SKILL.md.tmpl