Feature plan

Feature Plan

When asked to plan a new feature, create a structured implementation blueprint.

Planning Process

Step 1: Understand Requirements

Before planning, clarify:

• What problem does this feature solve?
• Who are the users affected?
• What's the expected behavior?
• Are there edge cases or constraints?

Ask clarifying questions if requirements are ambiguous.

Step 2: Assess Current State

Explore the codebase to understand:

• Existing patterns and architecture
• Related features or components
• Reusable code that can be leveraged
• Potential conflicts or dependencies

Step 3: Design the Solution

Create a plan covering:

Architecture Overview

[User Action]
     ↓
[View Layer] ← What UI components
     ↓
[ViewModel/Logic] ← Business rules
     ↓
[Data Layer] ← Storage, network, etc.

Component Breakdown

For each component:

• Purpose: What it does
• Location: Where it lives in the codebase
• Dependencies: What it needs
• Interface: Public API it exposes

Data Flow

Describe how data moves:

• User inputs and actions
• State transformations
• Persistence points
• Output/display

Step 4: Identify Files to Modify

Create a concrete list:

File	Action	Changes
path/to/file	Create	New view model
path/to/existing	Modify	Add new method

Step 5: Define Implementation Sequence

Order tasks by dependencies:

1. [ ] Data models (no dependencies)
2. [ ] Repository/Service layer (depends on models)
3. [ ] ViewModel (depends on service)
4. [ ] Views (depends on view model)
5. [ ] Integration and testing

Step 6: Risk Assessment

Identify potential issues:

• Breaking changes to existing features
• Performance considerations
• Security implications
• Migration requirements

Plan Output Format

# Feature: [Name]

## Overview
Brief description of what we're building.

## Requirements
- [ ] Requirement 1
- [ ] Requirement 2

## Architecture

### Components
- **ComponentA**: Purpose and responsibility
- **ComponentB**: Purpose and responsibility

### Data Flow
[Diagram or description]

## Implementation Steps

### Phase 1: Foundation
- [ ] Task 1.1
- [ ] Task 1.2

### Phase 2: Core Logic
- [ ] Task 2.1

### Phase 3: UI
- [ ] Task 3.1

### Phase 4: Polish
- [ ] Testing
- [ ] Edge cases

## Files to Create/Modify
[Table of files]

## Risks and Considerations
- Risk 1: Mitigation strategy
- Risk 2: Mitigation strategy

## Open Questions
- Question needing user input

Guidelines

• Keep plans actionable and specific
• Reference existing patterns in the codebase
• Break large features into phases
• Include testing as part of the plan
• Identify blockers or unknowns upfront
• Suggest incremental delivery when possible