Improve - Plan Refinement (Second Iteration)

Refine an existing plan by re-analyzing it against the codebase. Finds gaps, missing tasks, wrong dependencies, and enhances task quality.

Core Idea

existing plan + deeper codebase analysis + user feedback (optional)
    ↓
find gaps, missing edge cases, wrong assumptions
    ↓
enhanced plan with better tasks, correct dependencies, more detail

Workflow

Step 0: Find the Plan

Locate the active plan file using this priority:

1. .ai-factory/PLAN.md exists? → Use it (from direct /ai-factory.task)
2. No .ai-factory/PLAN.md → Check current git branch:
   git branch --show-current
   → Convert branch name to filename: replace "/" with "-", add ".md"
   → Look for .ai-factory/features/<branch-name>.md
   Example: feature/user-auth → .ai-factory/features/feature-user-auth.md

If NO plan file found at either location:

No active plan found.

To create a plan first, use:
- /ai-factory.feature <description>  — for a new feature (creates branch + plan)
- /ai-factory.task <description>     — for a quick task plan

→ STOP here. Do not proceed without a plan file.

If plan file found → read it and continue to Step 1.

Step 1: Load Context

1.1: Read the plan file

Read the found plan file completely. Understand:

• Feature scope and goals
• Current tasks (subjects, descriptions, dependencies)
• Settings (testing, logging preferences)
• Commit checkpoints
• Which tasks are already completed (checkboxes - [x])

1.2: Read project context

Read .ai-factory/DESCRIPTION.md if it exists:

• Tech stack
• Architecture
• Conventions
• Non-functional requirements

1.3: Read patches (past mistakes)

Glob: .ai-factory/patches/*.md

If patches exist, read them to understand:

• What mistakes were made before
• What patterns to avoid
• What the plan should account for

1.4: Load current task list

TaskList → Get all tasks with statuses

Understand what's already been created, what's in progress, what's completed.

Step 2: Deep Codebase Analysis

Now do a deeper codebase exploration than what /ai-factory.task did initially:

2.1: Trace through existing code paths

For each task in the plan, find the relevant files:

Glob + Grep: Find files mentioned in tasks
Read: Understand current implementation

Look for:

• Existing patterns the plan should follow
• Code that already partially implements what a task describes
• Hidden dependencies the plan missed
• Shared utilities or services the plan should use instead of creating new ones

2.2: Check for integration points

Look for things the plan might have missed:

• API routes that need updating
• Database migrations needed
• Config files that need changes
• Import/export updates
• Middleware or guards that apply
• Existing validation patterns

2.3: Check for edge cases

Based on the tech stack and codebase:

• Error handling patterns used in the project
• Null/undefined safety patterns
• Authentication/authorization checks needed
• Rate limiting, caching considerations
• Data validation at boundaries

Step 3: Identify Improvements

Compare the plan against what you found. Categorize issues:

3.1: Missing tasks

• Tasks that should exist but don't (e.g., migration, config update, index creation)
• Tasks for edge cases not covered

3.2: Task quality issues

• Descriptions too vague (no file paths, no specific implementation details)
• Missing logging requirements
• Missing error handling details
• Incorrect file paths

3.3: Dependency issues

• Wrong task order (task A depends on B but B comes after A)
• Missing dependencies (task C needs task A's output but isn't blocked by it)
• Unnecessary dependencies (tasks could run in parallel)

3.4: Redundant or duplicate tasks

• Two tasks doing the same thing
• Task that's unnecessary because the code already exists
• Task that duplicates existing functionality

3.5: Scope issues

• Tasks too large (should be split)
• Tasks too small (should be merged)
• Tasks outside the feature scope (gold-plating)

3.6: User-prompted improvements (if $ARGUMENTS provided)

If the user provided specific improvement instructions in $ARGUMENTS:

• Apply the user's feedback to the plan
• Look for tasks that need modification based on the prompt
• Add new tasks if the user's prompt requires them

Step 4: Present Improvements

Show the user what you found in a clear format:

## Plan Refinement Report

Plan: [plan file path]
Tasks analyzed: N

### Findings

#### 🆕 Missing Tasks (N found)
1. **[New task subject]**
   Why: [reason this task is needed]
   After: Task #X (dependency)

2. **[New task subject]**
   Why: [reason]

#### 📝 Task Improvements (N found)
1. **Task #X: [subject]**
   Issue: [what's wrong]
   Fix: [what should change]

2. **Task #Y: [subject]**
   Issue: [what's wrong]
   Fix: [what should change]

#### 🔗 Dependency Fixes (N found)
1. Task #X should depend on Task #Y
   Reason: [why]

#### 🗑️ Removals (N found)
1. **Task #X: [subject]**
   Reason: [why it's redundant/unnecessary]

#### 📋 Summary
- Missing tasks: N
- Tasks to improve: N
- Dependencies to fix: N
- Tasks to remove: N

Apply these improvements?
- [ ] Yes, apply all
- [ ] Let me pick which ones
- [ ] No, keep the plan as is

If no improvements found:

## Plan Review Complete

The plan looks solid! No significant gaps or issues found.

Plan: [plan file path]
Tasks: N

Ready to implement:
/ai-factory.implement

Step 5: Apply Approved Improvements

Based on user's choice:

5.1: Apply task improvements

For existing tasks that need better descriptions:

TaskGet(taskId) → read current
TaskUpdate(taskId, description: "improved description", subject: "improved subject")

5.2: Add missing tasks

For new tasks:

TaskCreate(subject, description, activeForm)
TaskUpdate(taskId, addBlockedBy: [...]) → set dependencies

5.3: Fix dependencies

TaskUpdate(taskId, addBlockedBy: [...])

5.4: Remove redundant tasks

TaskUpdate(taskId, status: "deleted")

5.5: Update the plan file

CRITICAL: After all changes, update the plan file to reflect the new state:

• Add new tasks to the correct phase with - [ ] checkboxes
• Update task descriptions if they changed
• Fix task ordering if dependencies changed
• Remove deleted tasks
• Update commit checkpoints if task count changed significantly
• Preserve any - [x] checkboxes for already completed tasks

Use Edit to make surgical changes to the plan file, or Write to regenerate it if changes are extensive.

5.6: Confirm completion

## Plan Refined

Changes applied:
- Added N new tasks
- Improved N task descriptions
- Fixed N dependencies
- Removed N redundant tasks

Updated plan: [plan file path]
Total tasks: N

Ready to implement:
/ai-factory.implement

Context Cleanup

Context is heavy after deep codebase analysis. Plan is updated in file — suggest freeing space:

AskUserQuestion: Free up context before continuing?

Options:
1. /clear — Full reset (recommended)
2. /compact — Compress history
3. Continue as is

Important Rules

1. Don't rewrite from scratch — improve the existing plan, don't replace it
2. Preserve completed work — never modify or remove - [x] completed tasks
3. Traceable improvements — every change must be justified by codebase analysis or user input
4. Respect settings — if testing is "no", don't add test tasks. If logging is "minimal", don't add verbose logging tasks
5. No gold-plating — don't add tasks outside the feature scope unless critical
6. Minimal viable improvements — suggest only what matters, not every possible enhancement
7. User approves first — never apply changes without user confirmation
8. Keep plan file in sync — the plan file MUST match the task list after improvements

Examples

Example 1: Auto-review (no arguments)

User: /ai-factory.improve

→ Found plan: .ai-factory/features/feature-user-auth.md
→ 6 tasks in plan
→ Deep codebase analysis...
→ Found: project uses middleware pattern for auth, plan misses middleware task
→ Found: Task #3 description doesn't mention existing UserService
→ Found: Task #5 depends on Task #3 but no dependency set

Report:
- 1 missing task (auth middleware)
- 1 task to improve (reference UserService)
- 1 dependency to fix

Apply? → Yes → Changes applied

Example 2: With user prompt

User: /ai-factory.improve добавь обработку ошибок и валидацию входных данных

→ Found plan: .ai-factory/PLAN.md
→ 4 tasks in plan
→ User wants: error handling + input validation
→ Analyzing each task for missing error handling...
→ Found: none of the tasks mention input validation
→ Found: error handling is inconsistent

Report:
- 2 tasks improved (added validation details to descriptions)
- 1 new task (create shared validation utils)
- Updated task descriptions with error handling patterns from codebase

Apply? → Yes → Changes applied

Example 3: No plan found

User: /ai-factory.improve

→ No .ai-factory/PLAN.md found
→ Branch: main (no feature branch)
→ No plan file found

"No active plan found. Create one first:
- /ai-factory.feature <description>
- /ai-factory.task <description>"

Example 4: Plan already looks good

User: /ai-factory.improve

→ Found plan: .ai-factory/features/feature-product-search.md
→ 5 tasks in plan
→ Deep analysis... all tasks well-defined, dependencies correct
→ No significant improvements found

"Plan looks solid! Ready to implement:
/ai-factory.implement"