How does this skill prevent scope creep?

It uses a mandatory YAGNI (You Ain't Gonna Need It) Declaration, which forces the architect to explicitly exclude unnecessary features and adhere to a pre-defined complexity budget.

When should I use the plan skill?

Use the plan skill after the research phase is complete. it is designed to turn research findings into a concrete, validated technical roadmap before implementation begins.

Is the planning process fully automated?

No, it is interactive and iterative. The skill pauses at multiple checkpoints to get human confirmation on the initial understanding, the proposed structure, and the final solution choice.

What are the 5 mandatory artifacts produced?

The skill generates Design Rationale and Evidence, Tree of Thought Solutions, Chain of Draft Evolution, a YAGNI Declaration, and Pattern Selection Rationale.

Can it invent new coding patterns for my project?

No, the skill is strictly prohibited from fabricating patterns. It only uses patterns verified during the research phase from your pattern library, codebase, or official documentation.

Technical Architecture Planner

Name: Technical Architecture Planner
Author: benredmond

bybenredmond

Productivity & Workflow

Transforms research findings into rigorous, battle-tested implementation plans using structured architectural artifacts.

About

The apex:plan skill manages the critical transition between research and code implementation within the Apex workflow. Acting as a specialized 'Architect' role, it requires Claude to validate research evidence, generate three distinct architectural solutions via Tree of Thought analysis, and rigorously apply YAGNI principles. By enforcing five mandatory design artifacts—including pattern selection rationale and a 'Chain of Draft' evolution—it ensures that developers receive a validated, low-risk roadmap with clear implementation sequences and validation plans before any production code is written.

Key Features

Generates three distinct architectural solutions using Tree of Thought analysis
Enforces YAGNI (You Ain't Gonna Need It) declarations to prevent scope creep
Produces a detailed Architecture Decision Record (ADR) with file-level modification plans
0 GitHub stars
Deploys parallel verification agents to map system flows and predict potential failures
Validates architectural decisions against existing codebase patterns and research data

Use Cases

Validating technical feasibility and identifying edge cases before high-stakes implementation
Designing complex system integrations where multiple architectural approaches must be weighed
Mapping out refactoring paths for legacy code while ensuring pattern consistency

About

Key Features

Generates three distinct architectural solutions using Tree of Thought analysis
Enforces YAGNI (You Ain't Gonna Need It) declarations to prevent scope creep
Produces a detailed Architecture Decision Record (ADR) with file-level modification plans
0 GitHub stars
Deploys parallel verification agents to map system flows and predict potential failures
Validates architectural decisions against existing codebase patterns and research data

Use Cases

Validating technical feasibility and identifying edge cases before high-stakes implementation
Designing complex system integrations where multiple architectural approaches must be weighed
Mapping out refactoring paths for legacy code while ensuring pattern consistency