Implementation Planning Skill

Implementation Planning Skill

Standard workflow only. If task_complexity is simple and workflow mode is Express, do not activate this skill. Simple tasks use the Express workflow, which does not activate implementation-planning. Return to the Express Workflow section.

Activate this skill during Phase 2 of Maestro orchestration, after the design document has been approved. This skill provides the methodology for generating detailed, actionable implementation plans that map directly to subagent assignments.

Codebase Grounding

Do not generate an implementation plan from guesses about the repository.

Use the built-in codebase_investigator before phase decomposition when:

• The task modifies an existing codebase
• File ownership, integration points, or validation commands are still unclear after reading the approved design
• Parallelization decisions depend on understanding current module boundaries or likely file overlap

Ask the investigator for:

• The modules and files most likely to change
• Existing architectural boundaries and conventions the plan must preserve
• Integration seams, dependencies, and shared ownership hotspots
• Validation commands and test entry points already used by the project
• Parallelization or conflict risks that should prevent batching

Skip the investigator only for greenfield tasks, documentation-only work, or plans where the current turn already established the relevant repo structure from direct reads.

Reuse investigator findings directly in the implementation plan:

• File inventories should reflect real candidate paths, not placeholders
• Validation criteria should prefer repo-native commands the investigator surfaced
• Parallel batches should account for actual ownership overlap and conflict risk

Plan Generation Methodology

Input Analysis

Before generating the plan, thoroughly analyze the approved design document for:

• Read task_complexity from the approved design document's frontmatter. Apply phase count guidance and domain analysis scaling accordingly. Record task_complexity in implementation plan frontmatter.
• Components and their responsibilities
• Interfaces and contracts between components
• Data models and their relationships
• External dependencies and integrations
• Technology stack decisions
• Quality requirements that influence implementation order