Sdlc Plan

sdlc-plan — Plan How to Build It

Overview

Small, atomic tasks. This skill reads the approved spec and produces docs/sdlc/tasks.md — a sequenced, checkable task list where every task takes 2–5 minutes and represents exactly one action.

Core principle: One task = one action. If a task can be split, split it.

Input: docs/sdlc/spec.md (preferred) or a direct description from the user. Output: docs/sdlc/tasks.md with sequential, dependency-ordered tasks.

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Pre-condition: Project Documentation

Before doing anything else, check whether docs/project.md exists in the project root.

If `docs/project.md` does NOT exist:

STOP. Do not proceed with this skill.

Inform the developer:

"No project documentation found (docs/project.md is missing).

Run /init-docs first to generate the technical documentation for this project.

All SDLC skills require this file to operate with the correct project context."

If `docs/project.md` exists: Read it (and any linked docs referenced in its index) before proceeding. Use the project context to make all decisions in this skill relevant to the actual stack, patterns, and conventions of this project.

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Process (Rigid — do not skip steps)

Step 1 — Read the Spec

Check if docs/sdlc/spec.md exists.

• If it exists: Read it before generating any tasks. Base all tasks on the spec's use cases and success criteria.
• If it does not exist: Ask the user for a brief description of what to build. Do not invent requirements.

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Step 2 — Generate Tasks

Break the work into atomic tasks following these rules:

Atomicity rules:

• One action per task (create, add, update, delete, test — pick one verb)
• Each task takes 2–5 minutes to complete
• A task that needs sub-bullets is too large — split it

Ordering rules:

• Sort tasks by dependency: what must exist before this task runs?
• Tasks with no dependencies come first
• Never reference a file or function that a later task creates

Special markers:

• Prefix with [DECISION] if the developer must make a choice before the task can proceed
• Prefix with [BREAKING] if the task changes a database schema, API contract, or shared interface

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Step 3 — Format Each Task

Use this exact format in docs/sdlc/tasks.md:

- [ ] T001: <title>
  - File: src/path/to/file.ts
  - What: one specific action, described concisely
  - Verify: how to confirm this task is done

Multiple files example:

- [ ] T002: [BREAKING] Add `user_id` column to `orders` table
  - File: db/migrations/0042_add_user_id_to_orders.sql
  - What: create migration adding nullable `user_id` foreign key
  - Verify: migration runs without error; column visible in schema

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Step 4 — Add Summary Header

At the top of docs/sdlc/tasks.md, include:

# Task Plan: <title from spec or description>

**Total tasks:** N  
**Estimated time:** N–N minutes  
**Breaking changes:** N  
**Decisions required:** N

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Step 5 — Present and Confirm

Show the task list to the user and ask:

"Does this breakdown look complete and correctly ordered? Any tasks to add, remove, or reorder?"

Wait for explicit confirmation. If changes are requested, revise and re-present.

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Step 6 — Save

Save the confirmed task list to docs/sdlc/tasks.md. Create docs/sdlc/ if it does not exist.

Confirm to the user: "Plan saved to docs/sdlc/tasks.md."

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Internal Checklist

The agent must complete every item before declaring the plan done:

• [ ] Read docs/sdlc/spec.md if it exists
• [ ] Every task has exactly one action (one verb)
• [ ] Tasks are ordered by dependency (no forward references)
• [ ] [DECISION] marker applied where developer input is required
• [ ] [BREAKING] marker applied to schema/contract changes
• [ ] Summary header with total tasks and time estimate included
• [ ] Task list presented to user and explicit confirmation received
• [ ] Saved to docs/sdlc/tasks.md

Do not begin implementation. This skill only produces the task list.

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Common Mistakes

<!-- AGENT NOTES (ignored by agents): OpenCode: use Write tool to save docs/sdlc/tasks.md Claude Code: use Write tool or Bash(mkdir -p docs/sdlc) Kiro: use file system tools to write docs/sdlc/tasks.md Cursor: save via editor or terminal -->