/ijfw-plan

name: ijfw-plan
description: "Use when the user says 'plan this', 'plan it', 'make a plan', 'let's plan', 'draft a plan', 'how should we tackle this', 'break this down', or invokes '/ijfw-plan'. Produces a falsifiable PLAN.md (software, book, campaign, design, research) with task breakdown, dependency wave-table, and success criteria — gated by validatePlan() + ijfw-plan-checker before dispatch."
since: '1.5.0'
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob, AskUserQuestion, Agent

IJFW Plan — domain-agnostic plan authoring

You are the orchestrator-facing trigger that turns a brief (and optionally a SPEC.md / research notes) into an executable PLAN.md. Plan output is the same shape across domains: software slice, book chapter, marketing campaign, design system release, research milestone. The deliverables differ; the structure doesn't.

This skill is the body for the `/ijfw-plan` slash command. Both paths land here. Slash invocation may pass `[brief description]` as `$1`.

When to fire

1. User explicitly asks: "plan this", "plan it", "make a plan", "let's plan", "draft a plan", "break this down". 2. `/ijfw-plan` slash command is invoked. 3. ijfw-workflow Deep path enters the Plan gate after Discovery + Research. 4. ijfw-spec-phase has emitted SPEC.md and the user wants HOW next.

If `.ijfw/memory/brief.md` is missing AND no SPEC.md exists for the active slice, ask one clarifying question first: `What are we planning? (one sentence)`. Never guess.

Inputs (read in order, skip missing)

1. `.ijfw/memory/brief.md` — original ask + success criteria. 2. `.ijfw/memory/research.md` — anything Discovery / Research surfaced. 3. `.planning/<milestone>/<phase>/SPEC.md` — locked acceptance criteria. 4. `.planning/<milestone>/<phase>/CONTEXT.md` — decisions resolved in discuss. 5. `.planning/ROADMAP.md` — where this slice sits in the bigger arc. 6. `.planning/PROJECT.md` — non-negotiables.

Detect domain from brief language and project layout:

• Software: `package.json`, `pyproject.toml`, `Cargo.toml`, source dirs.
• Book / chapter: `manuscript/`, `chapters/`, `outline.md`, prose-heavy brief.
• Campaign / launch: `campaign/`, `assets/`, calendar / channel language.
• Design system: `tokens/`, `components/`, design-ops language.
• Research: `notes/`, `papers/`, "review the literature" framing.

Domain choice changes vocabulary, NOT the output shape.

Output location

If a phase is active (`.ijfw/state/active-milestone` + `.ijfw/state/active-phase` both exist), write to `.planning/<milestone>/<phase>/PLAN.md` and also mirror the task list to `.ijfw/memory/plan.md` for the runtime gate to read.

Otherwise write the primary plan to `.ijfw/memory/plan.md`.

PLAN.md shape (same for every domain)

---
domain: software | book | campaign | design-system | research
time_budget: HOUR_1 | HOUR_2_3 | HOUR_4_5 | HOUR_6_PLUS
brief_ref: .ijfw/memory/brief.md
spec_ref: .planning/<milestone>/<phase>/SPEC.md  # optional
created_at: <ISO-8601>
---

# PLAN — <slice name>

## Goal
<One-sentence outcome — what ships when this plan completes.>

## Success Criteria
1. <Falsifiable, binary pass/fail.>
2. <...>

## Tasks

### Task task_id: T01 — <verb-noun title>
- **Deliverable:** <file path / chapter draft / asset / dataset>
- **Acceptance:** <done when ...>
- **Touches:** <file paths / chapter sections / channels>
- **Depends:** <task_id> | none
- **Risk:** low | medium | high — <one-line reason>

### Task task_id: T02 — ...

## Dependency Wave Table

| Wave | Tasks (parallel within wave) | Gates between waves |
|------|------------------------------|---------------------|
| W1   | T01, T02                     | none                |
| W2   | T03 (depends T01)            | T01 acceptance met  |
| W3   | T04, T05 (depends T02, T03)  | T03 acceptance met  |

## Out of Scope (Deferred to backlog)
- <Mentioned in brief but cut from this slice; reason.>

Multi-domain examples (substitute deliverables, keep the shape):

• **Software task:** Deliverable = `src/auth/login.ts` + test file. Acceptance

= `npm test -- login` exit 0. Touches = `src/auth/`, `tests/auth/`.

• **Book task:** Deliverable = `chapters/04-draft.md`. Acceptance = beats 1-7

from outline covered, POV consistent, word count ±10% of target. Touches = `chapters/04-*`, `outline.md`.

• **Campaign task:** Deliverable = `campaign/launch-week/email-1.html`.

Acceptance = subject line + preview text + body locked, links tracked. Touches = `campaign/launch-week/`, `analytics/utm-plan.md`.

• **Design system task:** Deliverable = `tokens/color.v2.json`. Acceptance =

contrast ratios meet WCAG AA, dark-mode pair validated. Touches = `tokens/`, `docs/migration.md`.

Time-budget question (Deep only)

Before drafting, ask one AskUserQuestion to lock the time budget:

{
  "question": "How much focused time do we have for this slice?",
  "header": "Time budget",
  "options": [
    { "label": "≤ 1 hour",  "description": "Up to 3 tasks; smallest viable slice" },
    { "label": "2-3 hours", "description": "Up to 7 tasks; one feature end-to-end" },
    { "label": "4-5 hours", "description": "Up to 12 tasks; meaningful slice with polish" },
    { "label": "6+ hours",  "description": "Unlimited tasks; full milestone scope" }
  ]
}

Record the choice in PLAN.md frontmatter as `time_budget`. The pre-dispatch gate uses it to detect budget overrun.

Pre-dispatch gate (mechanical, MUST RUN)

Before handing the plan to execute, run the deterministic gate that's wired into the existing `ijfw_state` MCP tool's `subagent.post-done` verb routing (v1.5.0 T13 — single state-SDK face, cap stays 12/12):

// Library — no new MCP tool needed (cap is 12/12).
const { validatePlan } = require('./mcp-server/src/orchestrator/plan-checker.js');
const planText = fs.readFileSync('.ijfw/memory/plan.md', 'utf8');
const { findings, blocked } = validatePlan(planText, { strict: false });

The gate checks (all defined in `plan-chec