Plans Methodology

Plans Methodology

Structured work tracking for individuals or multi-agent teams. Each agent maintains plans/ in their workspace.

Directory Structure

plans/ README.md draft/ # Being defined, not yet approved approved/ # Ready for execution in_progress/ # Currently executing completed/ # Done archived/ # Historical reference Each plan is a folder: YYYY-MM-DD-plan-name/

Plan Contents

YYYY-MM-DD-plan-name/ specs/ # Problem statements, requirements proposal.md # Why: justification, impact, risks design.md # How: architecture, flows, decisions tasks.md # What: checkboxes, owners, phases

proposal.md

# Proposal: [Plan Name] ## Status Draft | Submitted | Approved | Rejected ## Parent Plan [agent]/plans/[state]/[plan-name] (if child plan) ## Problem What problem are we solving? ## Proposed Solution High-level approach. ## Impact What changes? What improves? ## Cost / Effort Time, resources, dependencies. ## Risks What could go wrong? ## Decision Approved by [name] on [date] | Rejected because [reason]

design.md

# Design: [Plan Name] ## Overview What are we building/doing? ## Architecture / Approach How does it work? Diagrams, flows, decisions. ## Dependencies What do we need? Other plans, external services, other agents. ## Constraints Limitations, rules, non-negotiables. ## Open Questions Things still to be decided.

tasks.md

• # Tasks: [Plan Name]
• ## Summary
• Brief overview.
• ## Tasks
• ### Phase 1: [Name]
• [x] Task description -> Owner
• Completed YYYY-MM-DD. Notes.
• [ ] Task description -> Owner
• Details, acceptance criteria.
• [ ] Delegate to [Agent]: [what] -> [Agent]
• Child plan: [agent]/plans/[state]/[plan-name]

Lifecycle

Draft - Specs written, proposal drafted Approved - Proposal approved, design and tasks written In Progress - Execution started Completed - All tasks done Archived - Kept for reference Move the plan folder between state directories to change state.

When to Create a Plan

Create when: multi-agent coordination needed, significant effort, multiple phases, needs approval, or progress tracking desired. Skip for: quick tasks, simple lookups, routine operations.

Approval Authority

Define your own hierarchy. Typical pattern: Owner/CEO approves strategic plans Lead agent can approve plans aligned with established vision Sub-agents submit proposals to their lead for approval Document your approval chain in your workspace's plans/README.md.

Delegation

• When delegating work to another agent:
• Parent plan's tasks.md references the child plan path
• Child plan's proposal.md references the parent plan path
• Example in parent tasks.md:
• [ ] Delegate to [Agent]: implement feature X
• Child plan: [agent]/plans/in_progress/2026-02-20-feature-x
• Example in child proposal.md:
• ## Parent Plan
• [lead-agent]/plans/in_progress/2026-02-20-parent-plan

On Session Start

Check plans/in_progress/ for active plans Check plans/draft/ for plans awaiting action Continue where you left off

Granularity Tips

Not everything needs a plan. Use for significant, multi-step work. A single agent working on a quick fix does not need a plan. Plans shine when coordination, tracking, or approval is involved. Keep plan documents concise. Verbose plans get ignored.