Plan Visualization

Render planned changes as structured ASCII visualizations with risk analysis, execution order, and impact metrics. Every section answers a specific reviewer question.

Core principle: Encode judgment into visualization, not decoration.

/ork:plan-viz                          # Auto-detect from current branch
/ork:plan-viz billing module redesign  # Describe the plan
/ork:plan-viz #234                     # Pull from GitHub issue

STEP 0: Detect or Clarify Plan Context

First, attempt auto-detection by running scripts/detect-plan-context.sh:

bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/detect-plan-context.sh"

This outputs branch name, issue number (if any), commit count, and file change summary.

If auto-detection finds a clear plan (branch with commits diverging from main, or issue number in args), proceed to Step 1.

If ambiguous, clarify with AskUserQuestion:

AskUserQuestion(
  questions=[{
    "question": "What should I visualize?",
    "header": "Source",
    "options": [
      {"label": "Current branch changes (Recommended)", "description": "Auto-detect from git diff against main"},
      {"label": "Describe the plan", "description": "I'll explain what I'm planning to change"},
      {"label": "GitHub issue", "description": "Pull plan from a specific issue number"},
      {"label": "Quick file diff only", "description": "Just show the change manifest, skip analysis"}
    ],
    "multiSelect": false
  }]
)

STEP 1: Gather Data

Run scripts/analyze-impact.sh for precise counts:

bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/analyze-impact.sh"

This produces: files by action (add/modify/delete), line counts, test files affected, and dependency changes.

For architecture-level understanding, spawn an Explore agent on the affected directories:

Task(
  subagent_type="Explore",
  prompt="Explore the architecture of {affected_directories}. Return: component diagram, key data flows, health scores per module. Use the ascii-visualizer skill for diagrams.",
  model="haiku"
)

STEP 2: Render Tier 1 Header (Always)

Use assets/tier1-header.md template. See references/visualization-tiers.md for field computation (risk level, confidence, reversibility).

PLAN: {plan_name} ({issue_ref})  |  {phase_count} phases  |  {file_count} files  |  +{added} -{removed} lines
Risk: {risk_level}  |  Confidence: {confidence}  |  Reversible until {last_safe_phase}
Branch: {branch} -> {base_branch}

[1] Changes  [2] Execution  [3] Risks  [4] Decisions  [5] Impact  [all]

STEP 3: Ask Which Sections to Expand

AskUserQuestion(
  questions=[{
    "question": "Which sections to render?",
    "header": "Sections",
    "options": [
      {"label": "All sections", "description": "Full visualization with all 5 core sections"},
      {"label": "Changes + Execution", "description": "File diff tree and execution swimlane"},
      {"label": "Risks + Decisions", "description": "Risk dashboard and decision log"},
      {"label": "Impact only", "description": "Just the numbers: files, lines, tests, API surface"}
    ],
    "multiSelect": false
  }]
)

STEP 4: Render Requested Sections

Render each requested section following rules/section-rendering.md conventions. Use the corresponding reference for ASCII patterns:

Section	Reference	Key Convention
[1] Change Manifest	change-manifest-patterns.md	`[A]`/`[M]`/`[D]` + `+N -N` per file
[2] Execution Swimlane	execution-swimlane-patterns.md	`===` active, `---` blocked, `\|` deps
[3] Risk Dashboard	risk-dashboard-patterns.md	Reversibility timeline + 3 pre-mortems
[4] Decision Log	decision-log-patterns.md	ADR-lite: Context/Decision/Alternatives/Tradeoff
[5] Impact Summary	assets/impact-dashboard.md	Table: Added/Modified/Deleted/NET + tests/API/deps

STEP 5: Offer Actions

After rendering, offer next steps:

AskUserQuestion(
  questions=[{
    "question": "What next?",
    "header": "Actions",
    "options": [
      {"label": "Write to designs/", "description": "Save as designs/{branch}.md for PR review"},
      {"label": "Generate GitHub issues", "description": "Create issues from execution phases with labels and milestones"},
      {"label": "Drill deeper", "description": "Expand blast radius, cross-layer check, or migration checklist"},
      {"label": "Done", "description": "Plan visualization complete"}
    ],
    "multiSelect": false
  }]
)

Write to file: Save full report to designs/{branch-name}.md using assets/plan-report.md template.

Generate issues: For each execution phase, create a GitHub issue with title [{component}] {phase_description}, labels (component + risk:{level}), milestone, body from plan sections, and blocked-by references.

Deep Dives (Tier 3, on request)

Available when user selects "Drill deeper". See references/deep-dives.md for cross-layer and migration patterns.

Section	What It Shows	Reference
[6] Blast Radius	Concentric rings of impact (direct -> transitive -> tests)	blast-radius-patterns.md
[7] Cross-Layer Consistency	Frontend/backend endpoint alignment with gap detection	deep-dives.md
[8] Migration Checklist	Ordered runbook with sequential/parallel blocks and time estimates	deep-dives.md

Key Principles

Principle	Application
Progressive disclosure	Tier 1 header always, sections on request
Judgment over decoration	Every section answers a reviewer question
Precise over estimated	Use scripts for file/line counts
Honest uncertainty	Confidence levels, pre-mortems, tradeoff costs
Actionable output	Write to file, generate issues, drill deeper
Anti-slop	No generic transitions, no fake precision, no unused sections

Rules Quick Reference

Rule	Impact	What It Covers
section-rendering	HIGH	Rendering conventions for all 5 core sections
ASCII diagrams	MEDIUM	Via `ascii-visualizer` skill (box-drawing, file trees, workflows)

References

Visualization Tiers — Progressive disclosure tiers and header field computation
Change Manifest Patterns
Execution Swimlane Patterns
Risk Dashboard Patterns
Decision Log Patterns
Blast Radius Patterns
Deep Dives — Cross-layer consistency and migration checklist

Assets

Plan Report Template — Full mustache-style report
Impact Dashboard Template — Impact table
Tier 1 Header Template — 5-line summary

Related Skills

ork:implement - Execute planned changes
ork:explore - Understand current architecture
ork:assess - Evaluate complexity and risks