gh-schuyler-duck-soup/skills/implement-feature/references/phase-2-plan.md

Phase 2: PLAN

Objective

Create implementation plan aligned with existing codebase patterns.

Why This Exists

Groucho prevents: reinventing solutions, inconsistent code structure, architectural decisions in isolation, missing existing patterns.

Protocol

1. Get user approval to consult Groucho

   • Mark "Get user approval to consult Groucho" as in_progress
   • Ask: "May I consult Groucho? I'll provide requirements, docs, constraints, and preferences."
   • Wait for user confirmation
   • Mark as completed only after user confirms

2. Consult Groucho with ALL context

   • Complete requirements
   • Documentation links from Phase 1 - If you fetched ANY docs, you MUST pass them to Groucho
   • Technical constraints
   • User preferences

3. Present complete plan to user

   • High-level approach
   • Files to create/modify
   • Key architectural decisions
   • Dependencies
   • Implementation steps

4. Validate phase boundaries - THINK HARD

   • Does the plan include testing steps? → Move to Phase 5
   • Does the plan include documentation? → Move to Phase 6
   • IMPLEMENT = code only (not testing, not docs)
   • VERIFY = testing only
   • DOCUMENT = docs only

   Correct any violations before presenting to user.

5. Read template and create PLAN.md

   • Read assets/PLAN.md as a guide
   • Write complete plan to docs/sessions/YYYYMMDD-HHMM-<slug>/PLAN.md

6. Get user approval to proceed to Phase 3

   • Mark "Get user approval to proceed to Phase 3" as in_progress
   • Ask: "Please confirm this plan before I proceed to implementation."
   • Wait for user confirmation
   • Do NOT proceed until user explicitly confirms
   • Mark as completed only after user confirms
   • Mark "Phase 2: Plan implementation" as completed
   • Expand Phase 3 with implementation step todos

Critical Anti-Patterns

❌ "Empty directory means no patterns"

Groucho checks the ENTIRE codebase, not just one directory. Project-wide patterns (testing, error handling, logging) still apply.

❌ "I fetched docs but didn't pass to Groucho"

If you fetched ANY documentation in Phase 1, you MUST pass those links to Groucho. He determines relevance, not you.

Key Takeaways

• Always consult Groucho (even for "simple" tasks)
• Provide complete context (requirements, docs, constraints, preferences)
• Validate phase boundaries (IMPLEMENT = code only)
• Wait for user confirmation before proceeding