Workplan Scaffold

This skill enacts the Algorithms Before Tokens axiom from MANIFESTO.md: the plan is encoded once as a committed document and referenced by every subsequent delegation — never re-derived from scratch mid-session. Workplan discipline is governed by AGENTS.md § Agent Communication → docs/plans/. When this skill and those documents conflict, the primary documents take precedence.

1. When to Create a Workplan

Create a workplan before executing any phase when the session meets one or more of these criteria:

For single-phase, single-agent tasks with low risk, the scratchpad ## Session Start section is sufficient. The workplan is the plan of record; the scratchpad is live inter-agent memory.

2. Scaffold the Workplan

Use the scaffold script to create a correctly named, pre-filled workplan:

uv run python scripts/scaffold_workplan.py <brief-slug>
# Example:
uv run python scripts/scaffold_workplan.py add-research-skill
# Creates: docs/plans/2026-03-07-add-research-skill.md

Naming convention: docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<brief-slug>.md — date-first for chronological sorting.

If the file already exists, the script exits with an error rather than overwriting. Use the existing file.

The canonical template is docs/plans/2026-03-06-formalize-workflows.md.

3. Required Workplan Structure

Every committed workplan must include the following sections:

# Workplan: <Title>

**Branch**: `<branch>`
**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Orchestrator**: <Agent Name>

---

## Objective

<!-- One paragraph: what this session accomplishes and why -->

---

## Phase Plan

### Phase 1 — <Name> ⬜
**Agent**: <Agent Name>
**Deliverables**: <list>
**Depends on**: —
**Gate**: <acceptance test for this phase>
**Status**: ⬜ pending

### Phase 2 — <Name> ⬜
...

---

3.1 Deliverable Specification Conventions

When a deliverable involves a technology where a prominent prohibited alternative exists (heavier library, deprecated tool, framework mismatch), explicitly name the prohibition alongside the chosen technology in the deliverable spec.

Format: use X (do NOT install Y — reason)

Canonical example (Phase 4, MCP web-dashboard sprint 2026-03-28):

Deliverables:
- Chart component using LayerCake (do NOT install svelte-chartjs or chart.js — 56 KB overhead)

Why this matters: Abstract deliverable specs like "use LayerCake" are insufficient guardrail. Implementers default to familiar libraries they have used before. Without an explicit prohibition, an engineer who knows chart.js well will reach for it — the constraint is invisible unless named.

When to apply: Any time the delivery spec involves a technology choice and the following are both true:

1. There is a more popular or familiar alternative that would violate a constraint (size, license, framework compatibility, deprecation)
2. The constraint is not obvious from the technology name alone

Anti-pattern: Deliverables: implement charting feature — implementer unknown library preference, no guard against prohibited alternatives.

Good pattern: Deliverables: implement charting using LayerCake (do NOT install chart.js or recharts — both import full D3 bundle, +120 KB) — constraint is self-documenting.

Acceptance Criteria

• <criterion 1>
• <criterion 2>

**Status markers**: `⬜` pending, `✅` done. Update in-place as phases complete and commit the update.

---

## 4. Phase Ordering Prerequisite Check

Before committing the workplan, audit phase ordering against the constraints in [`AGENTS.md` § Sprint Phase Ordering Constraints](../../../AGENTS.md#sprint-phase-ordering-constraints). This check prevents the primary source of re-review debt: implementation phases starting before the research or docs that should inform them.

### 4.1 Tag Every Research and Documentation Issue

In the phase plan, add an `informs:` annotation to every research and guidance-documentation issue so dependencies are visible:

```markdown
- #242 `Scratchpad Architecture Maturation` — effort: XL — **informs: [Phase 5, Phase 11]**
- #246 `Research: scripts documentation` — effort: XL — **informs: [Phase 8]**

Issues that are purely retrospective (documenting work already done) do not need an informs: tag. All others must have one.

4.2 Cross-Cutting Research Gate Check

List every research issue tagged informs: [≥ 2 phases]. Confirm all three:

• It is placed in Phase 2 (the earliest executable phase after planning) — not mid-sprint
• Every implementation phase it informs has an explicit Depends on: Phase N Research entry
• It is not annotated as "parallel with" any phase it informs

If any check fails, reorder the phase plan before committing. Parallel-with annotations on cross-cutting research are the primary way gate constraints collapse in practice.

4.3 Documentation Gate Check

List every documentation issue tagged as guidance-providing (not retrospective). Confirm:

• It is placed before the earliest implementation phase that uses its guidance
• The phases that depend on it have explicit Depends on: entries
• If both research and guidance docs are both needed upfront: apply the chicken-and-egg rule from AGENTS.md § Sprint Phase Ordering Constraints and record the decision in the Objective section

4.4 Submit Workplan for Review

After committing the workplan (§ 5 below), do not begin Phase 1 until the workplan has been reviewed by the Review agent. Delegate with this prompt:

Review docs/plans/<slug>.md. Check: (1) cross-cutting research is in Phase 2 and gates all phases it informs — not marked parallel; (2) guidance-providing documentation phases precede the phases that use them; (3) every dependent implementation phase has an explicit Depends on: annotation. Return APPROVED or REQUEST CHANGES — [phase number: specific issue].

Log the verdict under ## Workplan Review Output in the scratchpad. Phase 1 does not begin until APPROVED.

5. Commit Before Phase 1

The workplan must be committed before Phase 1 executes. This creates an auditable plan history in git that is independent of the ephemeral .tmp/ scratchpad.

git add docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.md
git commit -m "docs(plans): add workplan for <slug>"

Why commit first: If the session is interrupted or compacted, the plan survives in git history. Uncommitted plans are lost on context reset.

6. Mirror in Scratchpad

After committing the workplan, write an ## Orchestration Plan section in the active scratchpad (.tmp/<branch-slug>/<today>.md) that mirrors the phase list and links to the committed file. This gives delegated agents a single orientation point:

## Orchestration Plan

Workplan: docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.md

| Phase | Agent | Status |
|-------|-------|--------|
| 1 — <Name> | <Agent> | ⬜ |
| 2 — <Name> | <Agent> | ⬜ |

7. Update as Phases Complete

After each phase, update both the workplan and the scratchpad mirror:

1. In docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.md: change ⬜ to ✅ for the completed phase.
2. Commit the update: git commit -m "docs(plans): mark phase N complete — <slug>".
3. Update the scratchpad ## Orchestration Plan table.

8. Session Self-Loop Handoff

After writing and committing the workplan, write the following line in the scratchpad before delegating Phase 1:

✓ Plan reviewed — begin execution

This serves as the signal that the planning gate is closed and execution may start.

Guardrails

• Never start Phase 1 without a committed workplan when the session meets the threshold criteria above.
• Never use heredoc or terminal writes for workplan content — always use create_file or replace_string_in_file tools.
• Do not re-derive the plan interactively mid-session; reference the committed workplan file.