plan-guideline

Design-first planning produces comprehensive, file-level implementation plans with explicit changes and test strategies before coding begins. It ensures alignment between design and delivery by documenting goals, auditing codebases, and defining interface changes upfront.

Create an implementation plan by following a sequential workflow: outline documentation changes first, then define test cases, and finally specify concrete implementation steps. This ensures test case creation happens prior to coding with well-defined interfaces and dependencies.

Yes, this structured planning approach applies to feature additions, refactors, and bug fixes across codebases. It guides teams to audit impacted files, identify dependencies, and define testing strategies for predictable delivery in any modification scenario.

Document file-level changes by auditing the codebase to identify impacted files and dependencies, then defining explicit interface changes and testing strategies. Clear documentation updates are required to guide development and ensure scope alignment.

Tests should be written before implementation to ensure predictable delivery through a sequential documentation-to-tests-to-coding workflow. This test-driven approach validates well-defined interfaces and dependencies early, aligning design with actual execution results.