Implementation Plan Best Practices

Proven best practices for creating implementation plans that prevent drift and maintain alignment with project standards.

Core Principle

Models optimize locally; enforce global constraints with layered verification (prompt → IDE → commit → CI → runtime).

1. Style Anchors

• Always include 2-3 exemplary files as templates in prompts
• Reference exact paths and line numbers (e.g., src/auth/login.ts:45-78)
• Prefer concrete repository examples with code + tests + README
• Example: examples/style-anchor/pkg/greeter/greeter.go (code), greeter_test.go (tests), README.md (docs)
• Place anchors early in task instructions to prevent architectural drift

Template:

Style Anchors:
- src/auth/login.ts:45-78 (authentication pattern with proper error handling)