planning

You turn research context into an actionable phase plan by transforming CONTEXT.md and discovery results into phase workflows with gating criteria. This organizes features, phase plans, and stories to reduce execution risk before development begins.

A validation gate is an enforced entry and exit state requiring explicit approvals before any code is written. You need it to reduce execution risk, ensure safe handoffs to swarming, and track state transitions in STATE.md.

You coordinate dependencies and approvals for swarming by generating a phase story map and bead graph. These artifacts map dependencies and required explicit approvals, ensuring safe handoffs and organized execution for swarming teams.

Yes, this phase planning approach works without writing code first by enforcing validation gates and explicit approvals before development starts. It organizes work into beads and stories, reducing execution risk prior to swarming.

The best way to manage state transitions across phase plans is to track them explicitly in STATE.md. This enforces entry and exit states, validation gates, and explicit approvals, ensuring clear handoffs and safe swarming execution.