feat(to-plan): add sequential plan skill

Add a user-invoked `to-plan` skill — the sequential, HITL sibling of
`to-issues`. Both slice work into tracer-bullet vertical slices, but
`to-plan` produces one ordered sequence you drive by hand, one phase per
fresh context, rather than parallel independently-grabbable issues.

It publishes to the tracker `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` configured, shaped
to it: a single sequential `plan.md` for a local tracker, or a parent
issue with ordered sub-issues (native sub-issues where supported) for a
real one.

Registers the skill everywhere CLAUDE.md requires (plugin.json, top-level
and bucket READMEs, docs page), updates the `ask-matt` router's main-flow
fork to offer both to-issues and to-plan, and adds a changeset.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Matt Pocock
2026-07-08 14:11:05 +01:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 4.8
parent 896f14d9c2
commit 93f73198e3
7 changed files with 176 additions and 1 deletions
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- **[improve-codebase-architecture](./improve-codebase-architecture/SKILL.md)** — Scan a codebase for deepening opportunities, present them as a visual HTML report, then grill through whichever one you pick.
- **[setup-matt-pocock-skills](./setup-matt-pocock-skills/SKILL.md)** — Configure this repo for the engineering skills (issue tracker, triage labels, domain doc layout). Run once per repo.
- **[to-issues](./to-issues/SKILL.md)** — Break any plan, spec, or PRD into independently-grabbable issues using vertical slices.
- **[to-plan](./to-plan/SKILL.md)** — Turn any plan, spec, or PRD into a sequential set of tracer-bullet phases worked one at a time — a single ordered file for a local tracker, or parent-and-sub-issues for a real one.
- **[to-prd](./to-prd/SKILL.md)** — Turn the current conversation into a PRD and publish it to the issue tracker.
## Model-invoked
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- **`/prototype`** to answer the question with throwaway code,
- **`/handoff`** back what you learned, and reference it from the original idea thread.
3. **Branch — is this a multi-session build?**
- **Yes** → **`/to-prd`** (turn the thread into a PRD)**`/to-issues`** (split the PRD into independently-grabbable issues). Because the issues are independent, **clear context between each one**: start a fresh session per issue and kick off **`/implement`** by passing it the PRD and the single issue to work on.
- **Yes** → **`/to-prd`** (turn the thread into a PRD), then split it into tracer-bullet slices one of two ways:
- **`/to-issues`** — independently-grabbable issues on your tracker, for **parallel/AFK** agents. Because the issues are independent, **clear context between each one** and kick off **`/implement`** per issue.
- **`/to-plan`** — a **sequential** plan you drive **by hand**, staying in the loop. Publishes to the same tracker, shaped to it: a single ordered `plan.md` for a local tracker, or a parent issue with ordered sub-issues for a real one. Work one phase per fresh context, clearing between them, with **`/implement`**.
- **No** → **`/implement`** right here, in the same context window.
Either way, **`/implement`** builds each issue by driving **`/tdd`** internally — one red-green slice at a time — then closes out by running **`/code-review`**, a two-axis review (Standards + Spec) of the diff, before committing. Reach for **`/tdd`** on its own when you just want to build a concrete behaviour test-first without a full spec, and **`/code-review`** on its own whenever you want to review a branch or PR against a fixed point.
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---
name: to-plan
description: Turn a PRD, spec, or the current conversation into a sequential plan of tracer-bullet vertical slices, published to the configured tracker — one ordered file for local, or parent-and-sub-issues for a real tracker.
disable-model-invocation: true
---
# To Plan
Turn a plan, spec, or PRD into a **sequential** plan of vertical slices (tracer bullets) — an ordered list of phases you work through one at a time, in a fresh context per phase.
This is the sequential, HITL sibling of `/to-issues`. Where `to-issues` produces independently-grabbable issues for parallel agents, `to-plan` produces one ordered sequence you drive by hand, top to bottom.
The issue tracker and triage label vocabulary should have been provided to you — run `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` if not.
## Process
### 1. Gather context
Work from whatever is already in the conversation context. If the user passes a reference (a PRD path, an issue number or URL) as an argument, fetch it and read its full body.
### 2. Explore the codebase (optional)
If you have not already explored the codebase, do so to understand the current state of the code. Phase titles and descriptions should use the project's domain glossary vocabulary, and respect ADRs in the area you're touching.
Look for opportunities to prefactor the code to make the implementation easier. "Make the change easy, then make the easy change."
### 3. Draft vertical slices
Break the work into **tracer bullet** phases. Each phase is a thin vertical slice that cuts through ALL integration layers end-to-end, NOT a horizontal slice of one layer.
<vertical-slice-rules>
- Each slice delivers a narrow but COMPLETE path through every layer (schema, API, UI, tests)
- A completed slice is demoable or verifiable on its own
- Each slice is sized to fit in a single fresh context window
- Any prefactoring should be done first
</vertical-slice-rules>
Order the phases **sequentially**, in dependency order — each phase builds on the ones before it. There is no parallelism: a plain top-to-bottom sequence.
### 4. Quiz the user
Present the proposed breakdown as a numbered list. For each phase, show:
- **Title**: short descriptive name
- **What it delivers**: the end-to-end behaviour this phase makes work
Ask the user:
- Does the granularity feel right? (too coarse / too fine)
- Is the ordering correct — does each phase build on the ones before it?
- Should any phases be merged or split further?
Iterate until the user approves the breakdown.
### 5. Publish the plan to the configured tracker
Publish the approved phases in order. **How** depends on the tracker `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` configured:
- **Local files** → write one sequential `plan.md` in the repo root, all phases in order, using the file template below.
- **A real issue tracker (GitHub, Linear, …)** → create **one parent issue** for the whole plan, then **one sub-issue per phase, in order**. Use the platform's native sub-issue / child-issue relationship if it supports one; otherwise create sequential issues and set each phase's "Blocked by" to the previous phase. Use the issue template below for the parent and each phase.
These are worked **sequentially by hand**, not handed to parallel agents, so do NOT apply the ready-for-agent triage label.
<plan-file-template>
# Plan: <short name of the work>
A one-line summary of what this plan builds. Reference the source PRD or spec if there is one.
## Phases
Each phase is one tracer bullet — a vertical slice worked in a fresh context, top to bottom.
### 1. <Phase title>
**Delivers:** the end-to-end behaviour this phase makes work, from the user's perspective — not a layer-by-layer implementation list.
- [ ] Acceptance criterion 1
- [ ] Acceptance criterion 2
### 2. <Phase title>
...
</plan-file-template>
<issue-template>
**Parent issue** — title: the plan's short name. Body: the one-line summary, a reference to the source PRD/spec, and the ordered list of phase titles.
**Each phase sub-issue:**
## What to build
The end-to-end behaviour this phase makes work, from the user's perspective — not layer-by-layer implementation.
## Acceptance criteria
- [ ] Criterion 1
- [ ] Criterion 2
## Blocked by
The previous phase (omit for the first phase).
</issue-template>
In either form, avoid specific file paths or code snippets — they go stale fast. Exception: if a prototype produced a snippet that encodes a decision more precisely than prose can (state machine, reducer, schema, type shape), inline it and note briefly that it came from a prototype. Trim to the decision-rich parts — not a working demo, just the important bits.
Work the plan one phase at a time with `/implement`, clearing context between phases.