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feat: /plan-definition — a guided discovery/definition phase upstream of plan-backlog #73
Description
Spin-off from #72 (idea from @santielizondo).
The gap
plan-backlog starts from a defined problem and turns it into a backlog. But the hardest, most valuable part often comes before that: defining the problem — the discovery/definition thinking. plan-backlog's guided framing step is deliberately light ("how do we slice this into a backlog"); it is not deep product definition. /plan-definition fills that: a guided discovery/definition phase that produces a clear problem definition, which then feeds plan-backlog.
Full flow becomes: /plan-definition (define the problem) → /plan-backlog (turn it into a backlog) → ticket → PR → follow-ups.
What it does (proposed)
A guided, Socratic phase — facilitate, don't decide — moving zoom-out → zoom-in:
- Intake — a spark in any form (even a one-liner; vaguer than
plan-backlog's input). Reuse the multi-format intake (text / PDF / Word / artifact / Confluence / Figma). - Frame the problem — guided questions + proposed answers to confirm/adjust: users, the problem/outcome, why now, constraints, success metrics, risks/unknowns, non-goals. Offer options, don't assume.
- Directions & trade-offs — propose 2–4 solution directions (e.g. MVP vs full, different approaches/sequencing) with trade-offs → PO chooses/refines.
- Produce a definition — a structured product definition / brief (problem statement, users, goals & non-goals, success metrics, chosen direction, key decisions, open questions). Rendered as a rich navigable artifact on Claude (reuses idea: richer artifact format for generated plans (navigable/collapsible/searchable HTML) #74), Markdown elsewhere. Approval-gated.
- Handoff — the definition becomes the input to
/plan-backlog, whose framing step is then lighter because the problem is already defined.
Boundary with plan-backlog (important)
/plan-definition= define the problem & direction — no backlog, no tickets./plan-backlog= turn a defined problem into a backlog (and, when a definition exists, consume it instead of re-framing from scratch).
Discovery surfaces (Santi's idea)
Collaborative whiteboards fit discovery well:
- FigJam — via the existing Figma connector, could be a context source (read a board) and/or a place the definition maps to. (Figma MCP is already in the kit.)
- Miro — no first-party connector today; treat as out-of-scope for v1 unless one exists.
v1 could be text + rich artifact, with FigJam as an optional context input; deeper whiteboard integration is a follow-up.
Guardrails (same doctrine)
- Facilitate, never decide for the PO. Offer alternatives, ask for decisions.
- Never fabricate — ground everything in the intake + the PO's answers.
- Approval gate before the definition is finalized; nothing downstream (no tickets) until
plan-backlog. - Portable across hosts (skill + a Claude command/agent, like
plan-backlog).
Open questions (to refine)
- Separate command/skill (
/plan-definition) vs a "deep-definition" mode ofplan-backlog? (Leaning separate — different output: a definition doc, not a backlog.) - The canonical definition template — which sections are must-have vs optional?
- Where the definition lives: an artifact only, a committed file, or a Confluence page?
- FigJam in v1: read-only context, or also produce/seed a board? Worth it now?
- How much of
plan-backlog's framing should collapse when a definition is handed in?
Design-only for now — capturing so it can be refined before any build. Relates to #72 / #74.
Activity
[-]idea: /plan-definition — a guided discovery/definition step upstream of plan-backlog[/-][+]feat: /plan-definition — a guided discovery/definition phase upstream of plan-backlog[/+]atamanvega commentedon Sep 9, 2026
@santielizondo — fleshed this out into a design plan (your idea): a guided discovery/definition phase that runs before
plan-backlog— frame the problem (users, outcome, metrics, constraints, non-goals), explore 2–4 directions with trade-offs, and produce a product definition (rich artifact) that then feeds/plan-backlog. Facilitate, never decide; approval-gated.Would love your take on the open questions — especially: separate
/plan-definitionvs a deep-definition mode of plan-backlog; the must-have sections of the definition template; and whether FigJam is worth pulling in for v1 (via the existing Figma connector) or a later step. Refine away 🙏atamanvega commentedon Sep 16, 2026
v1 is up in #79 🎉 — the
plan-definitionskill +/plan-definitioncommand +plan-defineragent, plusplan-backlognow runs a lighter framing when a definition is handed in.I took a first pass at the open questions (separate command; the must-have template sections; FigJam as read-only context in v1; definition lives in-chat/artifact with optional
docs/definitions/<slug>.md) — all called out in the PR description as v1 decisions to refine. @santielizondo, review + refine away 🙏feat(po): plan-definition — guided discovery phase upstream of plan-b…
atamanvega commentedon Sep 23, 2026
Shipped in #79 (v1) — merged. Refinements from Santi's dogfooding review folded in; grounding & provenance model added.