7a336e6e/project-planning

Project Planning

Goal

Transform a high-level goal or vague idea into a structured, actionable roadmap with clear milestones, defined MVP scope, and identified risks.

When to Use

• At the start of a new project.
• When a project's scope is creeping or undefined.
• When needing to prioritize features for an MVP.

Instructions

1. Define the North Star

Identify the core value proposition.

• Problem: What specific pain point are we solving?
• Solution: How do we solve it better than alternatives?
• Audience: Who exactly is this for?

2. Establish the MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

Ruthlessly cut features to the absolute minimum required to solve the core problem.

• Must Have: Non-negotiable features.
• Should Have: Important but can wait for v1.1.
• Could Have: Nice to have.
• Won't Have: Explicitly out of scope for now.

3. Phases and Milestones

Break the timeline into logical chunks.

• Phase 1: Foundation (Scaffolding, Auth, DB schema)
• Phase 2: Core Loop (The main feature user interacts with)
• Phase 3: Polish (UI cleanup, error handling, onboarding)
• Phase 4: Launch (Deployment, smoke testing)

4. Risk Assessment

Identify what could go wrong.

• Technical Risks: "We don't know how to use this API."
• Product Risks: "Users might not understand the workflow."
• Mitigation: "Build a prototype first" or "Add tooltips."

Constraints

✅ Do

• Prioritize "Core Loop" features over administrative features (like "Edit Profile") in the MVP.
• Define "Done" criteria for each milestone.
• Focus on user outcomes, not just technical tasks.
• keep the MVP timeline under 4 weeks if possible.

❌ Don't

• DO NOT plan more than one phase ahead in detail. Things change.
• DO NOT allow "scope creep" without removing something else of equal size.
• DO NOT skip the "Why". Every feature must map back to the North Star.

Output Format

• roadmap.md: A high-level timeline of phases.
• Updates to tasks.md (high-level epics).

Dependencies

• ../../architect/analyzing-requirements/SKILL.md