python-plan-review

name	python-plan-review
description	Review a Python *.plan.md for executability — verifying all 13 required sections, decision completeness, explicit async trigger or exemption citation, async-planning coverage when triggered, step precision, test specificity, and validation coverage before implementation begins.
complexity	high
risk_profile	["ambiguity_sensitive","multi_agent_handoff"]
inputs	["the target *.plan.md file path","[optional] the project pyproject.toml, Makefile, or README path — only needed when checking whether a Validation Commands reference is resolvable"]
outputs	["structured verdict: approved | needs-rework | insufficient-context","blocking_issues list — each item names the section, the concrete problem, and the required fix","hard failure when `Async-planning status` or an exemption citation is missing from `## Decisions`"]
use_when	["a drafted Python *.plan.md already exists and needs review before implementation","the workflow needs a check that the plan is complete, unambiguous, and executable","the expected output is a structured verdict with per-section blocking issues"]
do_not_use_when	["the task is to author or repair the plan; use python-plan-authoring instead","the task is to review code, a PR diff, or an implementation against a plan — use python-implementation-review","the task is to review Python code quality — use python-code-review","the plan has not yet been drafted","the input is a skill folder, topic plan, blueprint, or retrofit-plan contract"]

Purpose

Review a Python *.plan.md document for plan quality and return a structured verdict before any implementation starts. The central question is: can this plan be executed without guessing?

Trigger / When to use

Use this skill when:

• a drafted Python *.plan.md already exists and needs review before implementation
• the workflow needs a check that the plan is complete, unambiguous, and executable
• the expected output is a structured verdict with per-section blocking issues

Do not use this skill when:

• the task is to author or repair the plan; use python-plan-authoring instead
• the task is to review code, a PR diff, or an implementation against a plan — use python-implementation-review
• the task is to review Python code quality — use python-code-review
• the plan has not yet been drafted
• the input is a skill folder, topic plan, blueprint, or retrofit-plan contract

Inputs

• the target *.plan.md file path
• [optional] the project pyproject.toml, Makefile, or README path — only needed when checking whether a Validation Commands reference is resolvable

Process

1. Confirm the task is plan-document quality review only.

   • Reject authoring, code review, implementation review, and PR diff review.
   • If the input is not a *.plan.md, return insufficient-context with a reroute note in blocking_issues.

2. Confirm the plan text is sufficient to evaluate before proceeding.

   • If the document is truncated and one or more sections are absent from the visible text → return insufficient-context; name every section that cannot be assessed.
   • If the file has no recognizable *.plan.md heading structure → return insufficient-context with a reroute note instead of a verdict.
   • If Validation Commands names an external resource that cannot be located and provides no inline fallback → flag as insufficient-context for that section only.

3. Read the target *.plan.md in full before judging any section.

4. Detect whether async-planning should be present.

   • Trigger on plan-visible async-capable evidence such as async def, await, asyncio, AnyIO, FastAPI async endpoints, AsyncSession, httpx.AsyncClient, async repositories, workers, queues, semaphores, rate limits, retries, timeouts, cancellation policy, backpressure policy, or multi-call external I/O orchestration.
   • Do not trigger on syntax-only teaching, a single missing await, typing-only work, pure CPU work, or explicitly unchanged async baselines.
   • If the plan text itself contains the async evidence, review must not ignore it just because the author did not label the topic async.
   • Review the plan artifact, not skill invocation history. Contract-critical validity comes from plan text alone, and the designated evidence slot is - Async-planning status: inside ## Decisions.

5. Check that all 13 required top-level sections are present in the document. Required sections (any order is acceptable):

   1. Goal
   2. Non-goals
   3. Current Context
   4. Requirements
   5. Decisions
   6. Public Contract / API Changes
   7. Affected Files / Modules
   8. Implementation Steps
   9. Test Plan
   10. Validation Commands
   11. Risks
   12. Rollback Plan
   13. Open Questions

   Any missing section → return needs-rework immediately and stop further quality checks. Name every missing section in blocking_issues.

6. Validate the Decisions section.

   • It must begin with a designated async-routing line in repo-visible plan text:
     • Async-planning status: triggered — cite trigger evidence: ...
     • or Async-planning status: exempt — cite exemption evidence: ...
   • Missing Async-planning status → needs-rework; this is a contract failure, not a preference.
   • Async-planning status: exempt without an explicit exemption citation → needs-rework; reviewer must not infer the reason.
   • It must explicitly address all 7 of the following required decision topics:
     • Module/package placement: names a concrete file path or package (not "somewhere in src/")
     • Public API: explicitly yes or no, with rationale if yes
     • Interface changes: described, or explicitly stated as none
     • Breaking changes: described, or explicitly stated as none
     • New dependencies: named with version constraint, or explicitly stated as none
     • Error-handling strategy: names exception type, propagation model, or error boundary
     • Typing strategy: names the approach (e.g., strict mypy, runtime-only, no-op)
   • Addressing only some of these topics → needs-rework; name every missing topic.
   • If async-planning is triggered, the same ## Decisions section must also include these exact subsections:
     • ### Async boundary decision
     • ### Resource lifecycle decision
     • ### Concurrency model
     • ### Failure model
     • ### Cancellation / timeout policy
     • ### Validation plan
     • ### Handoff notes for the implementer
   • If async-planning is triggered and any of those subsections are missing, return needs-rework and state retrofit required in the blocking issue.
   • If Async-planning status says triggered, missing subsections are a hard failure even when the rest of the plan looks complete.
   • If Async-planning status says exempt, async subsections may be absent only when the exemption citation is explicit and plan-visible async evidence does not contradict it.

7. Validate async contradiction handling when async-planning is triggered.

   • If the plan text contains conflicting async claims, require ### Async contradiction log instead of choosing one interpretation.
   • The contradiction log must identify contradiction, source A, source B, risk impact, decision owner / next action, and blocking or non-blocking classification.
   • Review may not silently override the frozen async baseline.
   • If plan-visible async-capable evidence conflicts with an exemption claim, require contradiction handling or retrofit required instead of silently choosing one side.

8. Validate Non-goals.

   • Must contain ≥3 explicit "will not" items that scope what this plan excludes.
   • Fewer than 3 items, or a generic placeholder such as "nothing excluded" → needs-rework.

9. Validate Implementation Steps.

   • Steps must be numbered.
   • Each step must reference a concrete file, module, or component by name.
   • "Refactor the parser" alone → fails; "Update src/parser.py to handle empty lists" → passes.
   • "Write tests" without naming the test file or what to test → fails.

10. Validate Test Plan.

    • Must include ALL 5 of the following test case categories: happy path, invalid input, edge case, regression, backward compatibility.
    • Missing any one of these 5 categories → needs-rework.
    • "Add tests for this feature" alone → fails.
    • If async-planning is triggered and ### Validation plan names timeout, cancellation, resource cleanup, grouped failure, or concurrency-specific checks, those checks must also appear consistently in ## Test Plan.

11. Validate Validation Commands.

    • Must either name specific runnable commands (e.g., pytest -v, ruff check ., mypy src/) OR explicitly reference a project config file (pyproject.toml, Makefile, README).
    • Empty section, or a phrase such as "run the tests" → fails.

12. Validate Risks and Rollback Plan.

    • Each section must contain at least one concrete item.
    • Empty section in either → needs-rework.

13. Validate Open Questions.

    • Scan for any question explicitly marked as blocking implementation start (e.g., "BLOCKS", "must resolve before coding", or equivalent).
    • Any such blocking question → needs-rework; name the blocking question.
    • Unresolved but non-blocking open questions are acceptable.

14. Return the verdict.

    • If no blocking issues were found → approved.
    • Otherwise → needs-rework with a blocking_issues list that names the section, the problem, and the required fix for every failure.
    • If the plan text was insufficient to assess → insufficient-context as determined in step 2.

Examples

Positive (approved): All 13 sections present, all quality bars met, and ## Decisions records Async-planning status plus async-planning subsections when triggered.

verdict: approved
blocking_issues: []

Negative (needs-rework): Async-capable evidence is present, but ## Decisions omits Async-planning status or stops after the standard seven bullets and leaves timeout / cancellation decisions to the implementer.

verdict: needs-rework
blocking_issues:
  - section: Decisions
    issue: Async-capable evidence is present but `Async-planning status` and the required async-planning subsections are missing. retrofit required.
    fix: Add `Async-planning status: triggered — cite trigger evidence: ...` plus all seven required async-planning subsections under `## Decisions` before implementation continues.

Insufficient-context: feature.plan.md is truncated mid-document; multiple sections cannot be assessed.

verdict: insufficient-context
blocking_issues:
  - section: (document)
    issue: Plan truncated; multiple sections cannot be evaluated.
    fix: Provide the complete *.plan.md and re-run the review.

Outputs

• a structured verdict in the following YAML format:

verdict: approved | needs-rework | insufficient-context
blocking_issues:
  - section: <section name>
    issue: <what is wrong>
    fix: <what to add or change>

• blocking_issues is an empty list when verdict is approved
• verdict is insufficient-context when the plan text is too truncated or unstructured to assess one or more sections; name the unassessable sections in blocking_issues
• each blocking issue names the section, describes the concrete problem, and states the required fix
• use the literal phrase retrofit required when async risk is discovered late in an already-started plan
• no plan text is rewritten; only the verdict is returned

Validation

Required Checks

• all 13 required top-level sections are present in the document (Goal, Non-goals, Current Context, Requirements, Decisions, Public Contract / API Changes, Affected Files / Modules, Implementation Steps, Test Plan, Validation Commands, Risks, Rollback Plan, Open Questions)
• Decisions section addresses all 7 required decision topics (module/package placement, public API, interface changes, breaking changes, new dependencies, error-handling strategy, typing strategy)
• Decisions includes a designated Async-planning status line with cited trigger or exemption evidence
• plan-visible async-capable evidence is evaluated instead of ignored
• async-capable plans include all 7 required async-planning subsections under ## Decisions
• exempt plans still include an explicit exemption citation in Async-planning status
• contradictions in async decisions are recorded with ### Async contradiction log instead of being silently overridden
• Non-goals contains ≥3 explicit "will not" items
• Implementation Steps are numbered and each references a concrete file, module, or component by name
• Test Plan names all 5 required categories: happy path, invalid input, edge case, regression, backward compatibility
• Validation Commands name specific runnable commands or explicitly reference a project config file
• Risks and Rollback Plan each contain at least one concrete item
• no Open Question is explicitly marked as blocking implementation start

Quality Checks (best effort)

• async trigger or exemption reasoning is explainable from the plan text alone
• async validation expectations in ### Validation plan and ## Test Plan agree with each other
• Risks and Rollback Plan items are concrete and actionable, not generic placeholders
• Open Questions have named owners or a stated resolution path
• Decisions rationale is present where yes or no alone would leave the executor guessing

On Soft Fail

• use verdict: insufficient-context; do not invent an unsupported review verdict or status
• return best-effort findings for every section that could be assessed
• list each unassessable section explicitly in blocking_issues with issue: Section could not be fully evaluated and fix: Provide complete content
• use needs-rework for assessable sections that are conceptually incomplete or ambiguous enough to need repair
• do not block output; surface findings even when context is partial

Failure Handling

Missing Context

• BLOCKED — if the plan document is not provided or cannot be located, stop and ask for the file path before proceeding; do not attempt a review against an absent document

Ambiguous Requirement

• if a plan section is present but critically ambiguous (e.g., a Decisions entry that names the topic but gives no resolution), treat it as a soft-fail item
• if async-capable evidence and exemption evidence conflict, require a contradiction log or explicit retrofit instead of silently choosing one side
• list the item in needs-rework findings with the exact section name so the author can fix it without guessing

Execution Limitation

• if codebase files referenced in the plan (e.g., named source files in Implementation Steps) cannot be inspected, record the constraint as a blocking_issues entry (section: environment, issue: named file could not be inspected, fix: provide readable file or confirm path before re-review)
• review only what is present in the plan text; do not fabricate inferred content to fill gaps

Verification

• confirm the input is a *.plan.md, not code or a PR diff
• confirm all 13 required top-level sections are present before running quality checks
• confirm the Decisions section addresses all 7 required decision topics
• confirm Async-planning status is present and exemptions were not hand-waved
• confirm triggered async plans include the exact seven async-planning subsections
• confirm contradictions are logged instead of silently resolved
• confirm retrofit cases use the phrase retrofit required
• confirm Non-goals has ≥3 explicit will not items
• confirm Implementation Steps are numbered and file-specific
• confirm Test Plan names specific test case categories and stays aligned with async validation when triggered
• confirm Validation Commands name specific commands or reference a project config file
• confirm Risks and Rollback Plan each have ≥1 concrete item
• confirm no Open Question is flagged as blocking implementation
• confirm insufficient-context is returned when the plan text is truncated or unstructured and cannot be fully assessed
• confirm the output is only the verdict block — no inline plan repairs

Red Flags

• approving a plan where any of the 13 sections is missing
• treating standard Python practices as an adequate Decisions section
• accepting a plan with no Async-planning status line in ## Decisions
• ignoring plan-visible AsyncSession, AsyncClient, queue, timeout, cancellation, or concurrency evidence because the author did not label it async
• approving an async-capable plan with no async-planning subsections
• approving an exempt plan whose exemption reason is not explicitly cited in Async-planning status
• silently reconciling contradictory async decisions instead of requiring a contradiction log
• accepting Add tests as a complete Test Plan
• accepting an empty Validation Commands section because tests are obvious
• ignoring a question marked BLOCKS in Open Questions
• rewriting plan content inline instead of flagging it as a blocking issue
• returning needs-rework when the plan text is simply truncated or unstructured — use insufficient-context instead
• confusing this skill with python-implementation-review or python-code-review

Common Rationalizations

• The executor can infer the module location from context.
• The async details are implementation concerns, not plan concerns.
• The reviewer can fix the async wording mentally.
• Two Non-goals are close enough to three.
• Empty validation commands are fine because CI will figure it out.
• The open question will probably be resolved before implementation starts.
• Returning suggestions is enough even if the verdict is missing.

Boundaries

• Do not author or repair the plan document.
• Do not look at any code, PR diff, or implementation artifact.
• Do not judge whether architecture decisions are correct — only that they are explicitly stated.
• Do not evaluate code style.
• Do not approve a plan that is missing any of the 13 required top-level sections.
• Do not approve a plan whose Decisions section omits any required decision topic.
• Do not let async-capable evidence pass without either the required async-planning coverage or a justified exemption recorded in Async-planning status.
• Do not silently override or normalize contradictions in the async baseline.
• Do not overlap with python-implementation-review (code vs plan) or python-code-review (code quality).
• Do not emit anything except the verdict block.

Local references

• checklist.md: repeatable per-section and async-gate acceptance checklist for use before returning the final verdict
• examples.md: approved, needs-rework, exempt, contradiction, and retrofit scenarios with full verdict output