research-first-dev

- Parse the request into specific technical requirements - Identify the domain and relevant technology stack - List known constraints (time, resources, compatibility) - Define success criteria ### 2. Existing Solution Search - Search GitHub for similar implementations - Check package registries (npm, PyPI, crates.io, etc.) - Review documentation for framework-specific solutions - Identify relevant design patterns - Check for known anti-patterns to avoid ### 3. Alternative Brainstorming - Generate at least 3 alternative approaches - Include a "build" option and at least one "buy/reuse" option - Consider unconventional approaches ### 4. Trade-Off Evaluation - Complexity: implementation effort, learning curve - Time: development timeline, time-to-value - Risk: failure modes, dependency risks, maintenance burden - Scalability: growth limits, performance under load - Score each alternative on all 4 axes ### 5. Recommendation - Rank alternatives by composite score - Provide clear recommendation with justification - Include risk mitigation plan for chosen approach - Define go/no-go criteria ## Iterative Retrieval - Start broad, narrow based on findings - Use confidence scoring to decide when to stop - Maximum 3 retrieval rounds per topic - Cache findings for reuse in subsequent phases ## When to Use - New feature development (always) - Architecture changes - Technology selection - Dependency evaluation - Performance optimization strategy ## Agents Used - `planner` (primary consumer) - `architect` (architecture-specific research)