Implement Plan
Orchestrate the execution of complete implementation plans by delegating each phase to the implement-phase skill. This skill manages the full plan lifecycle.
CRITICAL: Orchestrator Pattern (MANDATORY)
THIS SESSION IS AN ORCHESTRATOR. YOU MUST NEVER IMPLEMENT CODE DIRECTLY.
The Orchestration Hierarchy
implement-plan (this session - ORCHESTRATOR)
│
│ ⛔ NEVER writes code
│ ⛔ NEVER uses Write/Edit tools
│ ⛔ NEVER creates files
│
└── implement-phase (ORCHESTRATOR for phase)
│
│ ⛔ NEVER writes code
│ ⛔ NEVER uses Write/Edit tools
│ ⛔ NEVER creates files
│
└── Subagents (DO the actual work)
│
✅ Write code
✅ Create files
✅ Run tests
✅ Fix issues
What This Session Does
| DO | DO NOT | |----|--------| | Read plan and prompts | Write code | | Discover phase prompts | Create files | | Invoke implement-phase skill | Use Write/Edit tools | | Track plan-level progress | Implement directly | | Present results to user | Fix issues directly | | Handle user confirmation | Run implementation commands |
Enforcement
If you find yourself about to use Write, Edit, or NotebookEdit tools in this session:
⛔ STOP - You are violating the orchestrator pattern
✅ INSTEAD - Delegate to implement-phase which will spawn subagents
Architecture
implement-plan (this skill - plan orchestrator)
│
├── Phase 1 → implement-phase → [implementation, verification, review, ADR, sync]
│ ↓
│ [user confirmation]
│ ↓
├── Phase 2 → implement-phase → [implementation, verification, review, ADR, sync]
│ ↓
│ [user confirmation]
│ ↓
├── Phase N → implement-phase → [...]
│ ↓
└── Final Verification & Summary
Responsibilities
This Skill (implement-plan)
- Read and understand the full plan
- Sequence phases correctly
- Delegate each phase to
implement-phase - Handle user confirmation between phases
- Track overall plan progress
- Generate final completion report
Delegated to implement-phase
- All implementation work
- Exit condition verification
- Code review
- ADR compliance
- Plan file synchronization
When to Use
- Implementing pre-approved technical plans or specifications
- Executing phased development work with defined success criteria
- Following structured implementation guides with verification steps
- Resuming partially-completed implementation work
Execution Modes
Current Mode: Guided Execution
Each phase requires user confirmation before proceeding to the next. This is the default, safe mode.
Phase 1 → implement-phase → ✅ Complete → [USER CONFIRMS] → Phase 2 → ...
Future Mode: Autonomous Execution
Note: This mode is planned but not yet implemented. When enabled, the entire plan will execute without pauses between phases.
Phase 1 → Phase 2 → Phase 3 → ... → Final Report
Autonomous mode will require:
- Explicit user opt-in: "implement the entire plan autonomously"
- Stricter quality gates
- Comprehensive rollback capability
- Detailed execution log
Getting Started
When given a plan path or asked to implement a plan:
1. Locate and Read Plan
1. Find the plan file (docs/plans/, thoughts/plans/, or specified path)
2. Read the ENTIRE plan - full context is essential
3. Identify total number of phases
4. Extract task_list_id from plan metadata (for multi-session support)
5. Check for existing Tasks (TaskList shows progress from previous sessions)
Multi-Session Support:
If the plan has a task_list_id in its metadata, ensure you're using the same task list:
CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID=plan-2026-01-24-feature-name claude
This enables multiple sessions to share progress on the same plan.
2. Discover Phase Prompts
Check for pre-generated prompts from the prompt-generator skill:
# Check common prompt locations
1. Glob("docs/prompts/phase-*.md") # Standard location
2. Glob("prompts/phase-*.md") # Alternative location
# Match prompts to phases by number
phase-1-*.md → Phase 1
phase-2-*.md → Phase 2
...
Prompt Discovery Output:
● Prompt Discovery:
Found: docs/prompts/phase-1-foundation.md → Phase 1
Found: docs/prompts/phase-2-data-pipeline.md → Phase 2
Found: docs/prompts/phase-3-agent-system.md → Phase 3
Missing: Phase 4 (no prompt found)
Note: Phases with prompts will use pre-generated instructions.
Phases without prompts will use plan file directly.
3. Read Related Context
# Tiered ADR reading (context conservation)
1. Read("docs/decisions/INDEX.md") # Scan all ADRs first
2. Read("docs/decisions/ADR-NNNN.md", limit=10) # Quick Reference of relevant ones
3. Read full ADR only if needed for implementation details
# Read files referenced in plan
4. Load all files mentioned in the plan
4. Check Progress via Tasks
# Check for existing tasks for this plan
TaskList: Check for tasks matching "Phase N:" pattern
If tasks exist:
- Resume from first non-completed task
- Skip already-completed phases
- Display current progress
If no tasks exist:
- Tasks should have been created by create-plan
- If missing, create them now (see create-plan Phase 7)
Task Status Display:
Tasks (2 done, 3 open):
✓ #1 Phase 1: Setup
✓ #2 Phase 2: Core Logic
◻ #3 Phase 3: Integration › blocked by #2
◻ #4 Phase 4: Testing › blocked by #3
◻ #5 Phase 5: Documentation › blocked by #4
5. Begin Phase Execution
For each phase:
- Mark task as in_progress:
TaskUpdate(task_id, status: "in_progress") - Delegate to
implement-phase - On completion:
TaskUpdate(task_id, status: "completed")
Skill(skill="implement-phase"): Execute Phase [N] of the implementation plan.
Context:
- Plan: [plan file path]
- Phase: [N] ([Phase Name])
- Task ID: [task_id from TaskList]
- Prompt: [prompt file path, if discovered]
- Previous Phase Status: [Complete/N/A]
Execute all quality gates and return structured result.
With Prompt (preferred):
Skill(skill="implement-phase"): Execute Phase 2.
Context:
- Plan: docs/plans/trading-platform.md
- Phase: 2 (Data Pipeline)
- Task ID: 2
- Prompt: docs/prompts/phase-2-data-pipeline.md
- Previous Phase Status: Complete
The prompt contains detailed orchestration instructions.
Execute all quality gates and archive prompt on completion.
Without Prompt (fallback):
Skill(skill="implement-phase"): Execute Phase 4.
Context:
- Plan: docs/plans/trading-platform.md
- Phase: 4 (Integration)
- Task ID: 4
- Prompt: None (use plan directly)
- Previous Phase Status: Complete
No pre-generated prompt. Use plan file for phase details.
Phase Execution Protocol
Before Each Phase
- Announce the phase about to start
- Summarize what will be implemented
- Note any dependencies on previous phases
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
● STARTING PHASE 2: Authentication Service
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Objectives:
- Implement login/logout logic
- JWT token generation and validation
Dependencies:
- Phase 1 (Database Schema) must be complete ✅
Delegating to implement-phase...
During Phase Execution
The implement-phase skill handles all details:
- Subagent delegation for implementation
- Exit condition verification
- Code review via
code-reviewskill - ADR compliance checking
- Plan file synchronization
After Each Phase
Receive structured result from implement-phase:
PHASE_RESULT:
status: COMPLETE | FAILED | BLOCKED
steps:
implementation: PASS
exit_conditions: PASS
code_review: PASS_WITH_NOTES
adr_compliance: PASS
plan_sync: PASS
manual_verification:
- "Check login flow in browser"
ready_for_next: true
User Confirmation Point
After each phase completes, pause for user confirmation:
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
● PHASE 2 COMPLETE: Authentication Service
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Results:
✅ Implementation: 3 files created, 2 modified
✅ Exit Conditions: All passed
✅ Code Review: Passed with 2 recommendations
✅ ADR Compliance: Passed
✅ Plan Updated: 8 tasks marked complete
Manual Verification Required:
- [ ] POST /auth/login returns token with expected claims
- [ ] POST /auth/logout invalidates session
Recommendations (non-blocking):
1. Consider using project's CustomLogger
2. Add ADR-0012 reference to plan
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Please confirm manual verification steps, then respond to
proceed to Phase 3: API Endpoints
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Handling Blockers
When implement-phase returns a blocker:
From implement-phase
PHASE_RESULT:
status: BLOCKED
blocker: "Existing JWT implementation found in src/legacy/auth.js"
options:
- "Proceed with new implementation"
- "Refactor legacy code"
- "Abort and revise plan"
Orchestrator Response
- STOP further phase execution
- PRESENT the blocker to user with options
- AWAIT user decision
- RESUME or ABORT based on decision
⛔ PHASE 2 BLOCKED
Issue: Existing JWT implementation found in src/legacy/auth.js.
The plan specifies creating new jwt.strategy.ts but doesn't
mention legacy code.
Options:
A) Proceed with new implementation, mark legacy for removal
B) Refactor legacy code instead of creating new file
C) Abort and revise the plan
Recommendation: Option A - cleaner separation
How should I proceed?
Resuming Interrupted Work
Tasks persist across sessions, enabling seamless resume:
- Call TaskList - Get all tasks for the plan
- Find first non-completed task - This is the resume point
- Verify state - Quick sanity check that previous work exists
- Continue - Resume from the pending task
● Plan Status: Resuming interrupted work
Task Status (from TaskList):
✓ #1 Phase 1: Database Schema - completed
✓ #2 Phase 2: Authentication Service - completed
◻ #3 Phase 3: API Endpoints - in_progress ← Resume here
◻ #4 Phase 4: Testing - pending (blocked by #3)
Resume Point: Phase 3 (API Endpoints)
Continuing from Phase 3...
Multi-Session Resume:
# Start new session with same task list
CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID=plan-2026-01-24-user-auth claude
# Tasks automatically show current progress
# Resume from where any session left off
Benefits of Task-based resume:
- Cross-session persistence (tasks survive session restart)
- Multi-session support (share progress across terminals)
- Dependency tracking (blocked tasks visible)
- Clear audit trail of progress
Final Completion
After all phases complete:
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
● PLAN COMPLETE: User Authentication Implementation
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Summary:
Phases Completed: 3/3
Files Created: 12
Files Modified: 5
Tests Added: 47
ADRs Created: 1 (ADR-0015)
Quality Gates (all phases):
✅ All exit conditions passed
✅ All code reviews passed
✅ All ADR compliance checks passed
✅ Plan fully synchronized
Final Verification:
- [ ] E2E tests pass: `npm run test:e2e`
- [ ] API documentation updated
- [ ] Security review checklist complete
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Implementation complete. Ready for final review.
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Progress Tracking
Progress is tracked via Task tools with cross-session persistence. See ADR-0001.
| Tracking Method | Scope | Purpose | |-----------------|-------|---------| | TaskList/TaskUpdate | Persistent | Track phase-level progress across sessions | | Plan File | Persistent | Specification document (updated with ✅ on completion) | | Status Updates | User | Communicate current state |
Task Lifecycle:
create-plan → TaskCreate (all phases with dependencies)
↓
implement-plan → TaskUpdate(in_progress) → implement-phase → TaskUpdate(completed)
↓
Resume (any session) → TaskList (find first pending task)
Multi-Session Workflow:
# Session 1: Start implementation
CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID=plan-my-feature claude
> /implement-plan docs/plans/my-feature.md
# ... complete Phase 1, 2 ...
# Session 2: Resume from another terminal
CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID=plan-my-feature claude
> /implement-plan docs/plans/my-feature.md
# Automatically resumes from Phase 3
Phase-level tracking is handled by implement-phase using Task tools.
Reference Materials
See references/plan-format.md for:
- Standard plan structure and formatting
- Phase organization guidelines
- Exit condition patterns
- Verification step templates
Key Principles
- Delegate phase execution - Use
implement-phasefor all phase work - Orchestrate, don't implement - This skill coordinates, not codes
- User confirmation between phases - Pause for human validation (current mode)
- Trust implement-phase results - Act on structured return values
- Surface blockers immediately - Don't hide problems from the user
- Track at plan level - Let implement-phase handle phase-level tracking
- Prepare for automation - Structure supports future autonomous mode
Skill Dependencies
implement-plan
└── implement-phase (required)
├── code-review (required)
└── adr (required for compliance)