Implement Feature

Parallel subagent execution for feature implementation with scope control and reflection.

Quick Start

/ork:implement user authentication
/ork:implement real-time notifications
/ork:implement dashboard analytics

Step 0: Project Context Discovery

BEFORE any work, detect the project tier. This becomes the complexity ceiling for all patterns.

Auto-Detection

Scan codebase for signals: README keywords (take-home, interview), .github/workflows/, Dockerfile, terraform/, k8s/, CONTRIBUTING.md.

Tier Classification

Signal	Tier	Architecture Ceiling
README says "take-home", time limit	1. Interview (details)	Flat files, 8-15 files
< 10 files, no CI	2. Hackathon	Single file if possible
`.github/workflows/`, managed DB	3. MVP	MVC monolith
Module boundaries, Redis, queues	4. Growth	Modular monolith, DI
K8s/Terraform, monorepo	5. Enterprise	Hexagonal/DDD
CONTRIBUTING.md, LICENSE	6. Open Source	Minimal API, exhaustive tests

If confidence is low, use AskUserQuestion to ask the user. Pass detected tier to ALL downstream agents — see scope-appropriate-architecture.

Tier → Workflow Mapping

Tier	Phases	Max Agents
1. Interview	1, 5 only	2
2. Hackathon	5 only	1
3. MVP	1-6, 9	3-4
4-5. Growth/Enterprise	All 10	5-8
6. Open Source	1-7, 9-10	3-4

Use AskUserQuestion to verify scope (full-stack / backend-only / frontend-only / prototype) and constraints.

Orchestration Mode

Agent Teams (mesh) when CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS=1 and complexity >= 2.5
Task tool (star) otherwise; ORCHESTKIT_FORCE_TASK_TOOL=1 to override
See Orchestration Modes

Worktree Isolation (CC 2.1.49)

For features touching 5+ files, offer worktree isolation to prevent conflicts with the main working tree:

AskUserQuestion(questions=[{
  "question": "Isolate this feature in a git worktree?",
  "header": "Isolation",
  "options": [
    {"label": "Yes — worktree (Recommended)", "description": "Creates isolated branch via EnterWorktree, merges back on completion"},
    {"label": "No — work in-place", "description": "Edit files directly in current branch"}
  ],
  "multiSelect": false
}])

If worktree selected:

Call EnterWorktree(name: "feat-{slug}") to create isolated branch
All agents work in the worktree directory
On completion, merge back: git checkout {original-branch} && git merge feat-{slug}
If merge conflicts arise, present diff to user via AskUserQuestion

See Worktree Isolation Mode for detailed workflow.

Task Management (MANDATORY)

Create tasks with TaskCreate BEFORE doing any work. Each phase gets a subtask. Update status with TaskUpdate as you progress.

Workflow (10 Phases)

Phase	Activities	Agents
1. Discovery	Research best practices, Context7 docs, break into tasks	—
2. Micro-Planning	Detailed plan per task (guide)	—
3. Worktree	Isolate in git worktree for 5+ file features (workflow)	—
4. Architecture	5 parallel background agents	workflow-architect, backend-system-architect, frontend-ui-developer, llm-integrator, ux-researcher
5. Implementation + Tests	Parallel agents, single-pass artifacts with mandatory tests	backend-system-architect, frontend-ui-developer, llm-integrator, test-generator, rapid-ui-designer
6. Integration Verification	Code review + real-service integration tests	backend, frontend, code-quality-reviewer, security-auditor
7. Scope Creep	Compare planned vs actual (detection)	workflow-architect
8. E2E Verification	Browser + API E2E testing (guide)	—
9. Documentation	Save decisions to memory graph	—
10. Reflection	Lessons learned, estimation accuracy	workflow-architect

See Agent Phases for detailed agent prompts and spawn templates.

For Agent Teams mode, see Agent Teams Phases.

Issue Tracking

If working on a GitHub issue, run the Start Work ceremony from issue-progress-tracking and post progress comments after major phases.

Feedback Loop

Maintain checkpoints after each task. See Feedback Loop for triggers and actions.

Test Requirements Matrix

Phase 5 test-generator MUST produce tests matching the change type:

Change Type	Required Tests	`testing-patterns` Rules
API endpoint	Unit + Integration + Contract	`integration-api`, `verification-contract`, `mocking-msw`
DB schema/migration	Migration + Integration	`integration-database`, `data-seeding-cleanup`
UI component	Unit + Snapshot + A11y	`unit-aaa-pattern`, `integration-component`, `a11y-testing`, `e2e-playwright`
Business logic	Unit + Property-based	`unit-aaa-pattern`, `pytest-execution`, `verification-techniques`
LLM/AI feature	Unit + Eval	`llm-evaluation`, `llm-mocking`
Full-stack feature	All of the above	All matching rules

Real-Service Detection (Phase 6)

Before running integration tests, detect infrastructure:

# Auto-detect real service testing capability (PARALLEL)
Glob(pattern="**/docker-compose*.yml")
Glob(pattern="**/testcontainers*")
Grep(pattern="testcontainers|docker-compose", glob="requirements*.txt")
Grep(pattern="testcontainers|docker-compose", glob="package.json")

If detected: run integration tests against real services, not just mocks. Reference testing-patterns rules: integration-database, integration-api, data-seeding-cleanup.

Phase 9 Gate

Do NOT proceed to Phase 9 (Documentation) if test-generator produced 0 tests. Return to Phase 5 and generate tests for the implemented code.

Key Principles

Tests are NOT optional — each task includes its tests, matched to change type (see matrix above)
Parallel when independent — use run_in_background: true, launch all agents in ONE message
128K output — generate complete artifacts in a single pass, don't split unnecessarily
Micro-plan before implementing — scope boundaries, file list, acceptance criteria
Detect scope creep (phase 7) — score 0-10, split PR if significant
Real services when available — if docker-compose/testcontainers exist, use them in Phase 6
Reflect and capture lessons (phase 10) — persist to memory graph
Clean up agents — use TeamDelete() after completion; press Ctrl+F twice as manual fallback

Related Skills

ork:explore: Explore codebase before implementing
ork:verify: Verify implementations work correctly
ork:issue-progress-tracking: Auto-updates GitHub issues with commit progress

implement