research-analyze-plan

name	research-analyze-plan
description	This skill should be used when the user asks for a comprehensive decision-making process involving external research, comparative analysis, and strategic planning. It formalizes the "Research -> Analyze -> Decide -> Plan" loop.

Research-Analyze-Plan Skill

This skill guides the agent through a rigorous decision-making process, ensuring that architectural decisions are backed by external evidence and deep comparative analysis.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• The user asks to "research and decide" on a technology or pattern.
• The user requests a "competitive analysis" or "industry landscape" review.
• You need to validate an internal design against industry best practices.
• The user explicitly invokes the "Research, Analyze, Decide, Plan" workflow.

The Workflow

Phase 1: Research (The "Wide Net")

Goal: Gather unbiased external data.

1. Identify Keywords: Extract core concepts from the user's request (e.g., "Ephemeral State", "Undo/Redo", "Transaction").
2. Multi-Source Search:
   • Leverage available search tools (specifically tavily or exa if available) to gather broad industry trends and comparative analysis.
   • Use content fetching tools (e.g., fetcher) to retrieve specific documentation or deep-dive articles.
   • Tip: Search for "alternatives to X", "X vs Y", "best practices for Z".
3. Capture Findings: Record key features, pros, cons, and architectural philosophies of each candidate.

Phase 2: Analyze (The "Deep Dive")

Goal: Contextualize findings against the current project.

1. Concept Mapping: Map external concepts to internal terminology (e.g., "XState Actor" ~= "Logix Draft").
2. Gap Analysis:
   • Inspiration: What did they do right? (e.g., "Redux's Immer integration is great")
   • Deficiency: What is missing or mismatched? (e.g., "Redux is too global", "XState is too manual")
3. Comparative Matrix: Create a mental (or actual) table comparing features (Isolation, Lifecycle, Transaction, DX).

Phase 3: Decide (The "Verdict")

Goal: Make a definitive choice.

1. Synthesize: Combine internal requirements with external insights.
2. Justify: Articulate why the chosen approach is superior for this specific context.
   • Template: "While [Competitor] excels at [Feature A], we chose [Our Solution] because [Reason B] is critical for [Project Goal]."
3. Final Verdict: State the decision clearly (e.g., "We will adopt the Draft Pattern").

Phase 4: Plan (The "Output")

Goal: Document the decision.

1. Update Specs: Write the analysis and decision into the relevant design document (e.g., docs/specs/...).
   • Include an "Industry Landscape" section.
   • Include a "Decision Matrix" or "Comparison Table".
2. Refine Design: If research revealed a flaw in the original design, fix it now.
3. Notify User: Present the findings and the final decision in a structured format.

Example Output Structure

When presenting the result to the user, follow this structure:

## Industry Landscape & Comparison

| Feature | Our Solution | Competitor A | Competitor B |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Feature 1 | ✅ | ❌ | ⚠️ |

### vs Competitor A
*   **Concept**: ...
*   **Gap**: ...
*   **Our Advantage**: ...

### Final Verdict
We chose **Our Solution** because...