gh-glittercowboy-taches-cc-resources/skills/create-plans/references/hierarchy-rules.md

The planning hierarchy ensures context flows down and progress flows up. Each level builds on the previous and enables the next. ``` BRIEF.md ← Vision (human-focused) ↓ ROADMAP.md ← Structure (phases) ↓ phases/XX/PLAN.md ← Implementation (Claude-executable) ↓ prompts/ ← Execution (via create-meta-prompts) ``` **Purpose**: Capture vision, goals, constraints **Audience**: Human (the user) **Contains**: What we're building, why, success criteria, out of scope **Creates**: `.planning/BRIEF.md`

Requires: Nothing (can start here) Enables: Roadmap creation

This is the ONLY document optimized for human reading.

**Purpose**: Define phases and sequence **Audience**: Both human and Claude **Contains**: Phase names, goals, dependencies, progress tracking **Creates**: `.planning/ROADMAP.md`, `.planning/phases/` directories

Requires: Brief (or quick context if skipping) Enables: Phase planning

Roadmap looks UP to Brief for scope, looks DOWN to track phase completion.

**Purpose**: Define Claude-executable tasks **Audience**: Claude (the implementer) **Contains**: Tasks with Files/Action/Verification/Done-when **Creates**: `.planning/phases/XX-name/PLAN.md`

Requires: Roadmap (to know phase scope) Enables: Prompt generation, direct execution

Phase plan looks UP to Roadmap for scope, produces implementation details.

**Purpose**: Optimized execution instructions **Audience**: Claude (via create-meta-prompts) **Contains**: Research/Plan/Do prompts with metadata **Creates**: `.planning/phases/XX-name/prompts/`

Requires: Phase plan (tasks to execute) Enables: Autonomous execution

Prompts are generated from phase plan via create-meta-prompts skill.

<navigation_rules> <looking_up> When creating a lower-level artifact, ALWAYS read higher levels for context:

• Creating Roadmap → Read Brief
• Planning Phase → Read Roadmap AND Brief
• Generating Prompts → Read Phase Plan AND Roadmap

This ensures alignment with overall vision. </looking_up>

<looking_down> When updating a higher-level artifact, check lower levels for status:

• Updating Roadmap progress → Check which phase PLANs exist, completion state
• Reviewing Brief → See how far we've come via Roadmap

This enables progress tracking. </looking_down>

<missing_prerequisites> If a prerequisite doesn't exist:

Creating phase plan but no roadmap exists.

Options:
1. Create roadmap first (recommended)
2. Create quick roadmap placeholder
3. Proceed anyway (not recommended - loses hierarchy benefits)

Always offer to create missing pieces rather than skipping. </missing_prerequisites> </navigation_rules>

<file_locations> All planning artifacts in .planning/:

.planning/
├── BRIEF.md                    # One per project
├── ROADMAP.md                  # One per project
└── phases/
    ├── 01-phase-name/
    │   ├── PLAN.md             # One per phase
    │   ├── .continue-here.md   # Temporary (when paused)
    │   └── prompts/            # Generated execution prompts
    ├── 02-phase-name/
    │   ├── PLAN.md
    │   └── prompts/
    └── ...

Phase directories use XX-kebab-case for consistent ordering. </file_locations>

<scope_inheritance> Each level inherits and narrows scope:

Brief: "Build a task management app" Roadmap: "Phase 1: Core task CRUD, Phase 2: Projects, Phase 3: Collaboration" Phase 1 Plan: "Task 1: Database schema, Task 2: API endpoints, Task 3: UI"

Scope flows DOWN and gets more specific. Progress flows UP and gets aggregated. </scope_inheritance>

<cross_phase_context> When planning Phase N, Claude should understand:

• What Phase N-1 delivered (completed work)
• What Phase N should build on (foundations)
• What Phase N+1 will need (don't paint into corner)

Read previous phase's PLAN.md to understand current state. </cross_phase_context>