v2.0.0 to v2.0.0

---

name: roadmap-planning

description: "PM-GATED. Shape research into ratified, graphed roadmap batons."

version: 2.0.0

allowed-tools: ["Read", "Write", "Edit", "Bash", "Grep", "Glob", "Agent", "Skill"]

argument-hint: "<input-corpus-path|problem-set-path|roadmap-seed-stub-path> [--run-id <slug>]"

---

# Roadmap Planning — From Inputs to Sequenced Spinoff Stubs

Turns a corpus of inputs (research, deep-dives, brainstorming, or a ratified problem-set) into a

sequenced backlog of `kind: roadmap-baton` stubs — dispatchable, pickup-able handoffs, not a plan

doc. Use when 5+ candidate items need sequencing into gated waves (one feature → `coordinator:plan`;

architecture call → `coordinator:staff-session`; bug batch → `coordinator:bug-blitz`; option

exploration → `coordinator:brainstorming`). **Exception:** a `kind: roadmap-seed` pickup (Entry

Point B) is exempt from the 5+ floor — goal-setting already scoped it as one roadmap's worth of work.

## Entry points

Detail for B/C/D, read before starting Phase 1 on that path: `residue/entry-points-b-c-d.md`.

- **A** — direct invocation, `<input-corpus-path>` is the corpus dir. Begin at Phase 1.

- **B** — pickup of a `kind: roadmap-seed` stub (goal-seeded) → `§ Entry Point B`.

- **C** — chain from `/shape` (`estimated_horizon: week`) → `§ Entry Point C`.

- **D** — conform intake from a sizing-object (`xl_exit: roadmap`), never a gate → `§ Entry Point D`.

## Ceremony ladder

```

/goal-setting → kind: roadmap-seed stubs → /roadmap-planning → kind: roadmap-baton stubs

→ coordinator:plan → plan-doc → execute-plan → executor chunks

```

This skill authors the stubs a downstream `coordinator:plan` consumes; never invokes it (§ Anti-scope).

---

## Phase 1 — Synthesize: input corpus → verdict-grid

Every cluster gets exactly one verdict — no "we'll see". Inverse coverage (verdict → stub) is

Step 2.6's job (below).

1. Inventory every input file (title + summary) → `state/roadmap/<run-id>/inventory.md`.

2. Cluster into coverage units (typically 20–60/roadmap); a sub-floor cluster folds into a

sibling here, pre-verdict (wiki: grain-fold vs. MERGE) → `state/roadmap/<run-id>/clusters.md`.

**A cluster is a unit of coverage accounting, never a unit of dispatch** — how many batons

these become is Step 2.1.6's call, not this step's.

3. Verdict each cluster — MERGE / DEFER / KEEP / DROP / MOVE — into

`state/roadmap/<run-id>/reconciliation.md`. Verdict count must equal cluster count.

4. Conflicts → `state/roadmap/<run-id>/COORDINATOR-RESOLUTIONS.md` (template:

`residue/coordinator-resolutions-format.md`), authoritative over any stub.

**Exit:** inventory + verdicts complete and balanced; resolutions doc present if conflicts; every

sub-floor cluster folded or dispatched — a rationale is not a disposition.

---

## Phase 1.5 — Substantiate: research + OVERVIEW + peer-team asks (PM-gated, double-approved)

Mandatory, never skipped (wiki: why). Stubs cite primary research and a PM-approved overview, not

EM hand-waving.

**UE-cluster precondition:** confirm `mcp__project-rag__project_semantic_search(query="UClass",

source="unreal", limit=1)` returns a hit before any UE-internal-API cluster proceeds; unavailable →

STOP those clusters, never substitute web scouts, surface to PM. Other clusters unaffected.

1.5.0. Assess research depth (EM judgment, PM-authorized) — `residue/research-depth-assessment.md`

before dispatching scouts; `/research` is PM-gated, never EM-auto-invoked.

1.5.1. Dispatch one scout per KEEP/MERGE-target cluster (cap 8 concurrent), brief =

`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/snippets/internet-research-scout.md` + cluster scope → `research-corpus/<topic-

slug>.md`, ≥2KB. Exceptions (per-project material, measurement-derived corpus): wiki.

1.5.2. Author `OVERVIEW.md`, one section per KEEP cluster, headed by NAME never number (wiki:

why); each section cites its research-corpus file and carries `### Contested` (required, even

empty). Frontmatter template: wiki.

1.5.3. `peer-team-asks.md` — must be present, empty as `- None identified at authoring time.`

(template: `residue/peer-team-ask-format.md`).

1.5.4. PM round 1 (shape approval) before reviewers run — framing template: wiki. On approval,

`status: shape-approved`.

1.5.5. Sequential reviews — the Staff Engineer, or the Director of Engineering on cross-repo/cross-team boundaries; domain reviewer

by flavor. Sidecar contract + altitude rule (shared with Step 2.8): wiki.

1.5.6. PM round 2 (final approval) with a diff vs. shape-approved — framing template: wiki. On

approval, `status: final-approved`. **Phase 2 MUST NOT start without it.**

**Exit:** research-depth recorded; every KEEP cluster has a research-corpus file; OVERVIEW cites +

`### Contested` per section; peer-team-asks present; both reviews integrated; `status:

final-approved`.

---

## Phase 2 — Plan: stubs + STUB-INDEX + constraint graph + PM-gates + reviews

**Entry:** OVERVIEW `status: final-approved`, Phase 1.5 exit checked — else STOP, return to Phase 1.5.

2.1. Scaffold each stub (Shape W, `snippets/resolve-coordinator-bin.md`):

`& "$env:COORDINATOR_SETTINGS_HOME\bin\coordinator-doc-new.exe" --type roadmap-baton --title "<title>" --roadmap-id <run-id> --stub-id <slug>-<N> --out state/handoffs/<date>_<HHMMSS>_roadmap-<slug>-<N>.md`,

mint the id (`bin/mint-deliverable-id --stub-id "<slug>-<N>"` → `deliverable_id:`), fill the rest

from Step 2.1.5's numbering output. **Read `residue/stub-frontmatter-schema-and-field-notes.md`

first.**

<!-- engine-gap: field=roadmap_planning.stub_body_section_completeness producer=unknown memo=2026-08-27-claude-klabauter-em-doe-unmarked-obligations-and-four-lost-markers.md -->

2.1a. **Carry the size forward — pass `--sizing-object <the object that routed this roadmap>`.** A

stub minted without it reads as unsized downstream and `plan` trampolines it back to the lobby,

re-litigating a size this roadmap already made: 2.1.6 assigns every stub its own `loe:`, and the

roadmap itself arrived through the lobby. Sizing is not re-run on a stub. After scaffolding,

confirm `sizing_object:` is actually present in the stub's frontmatter — if it is not, stamp it

by hand rather than trusting the flag silently took effect. Tripwire:

`A-BATON-IS-NOT-A-SIZING-ARTIFACT`.

2.1.5. Number stubs in dependency order before writing any — run (Shape W,

`snippets/resolve-coordinator-bin.md`)

`& "$env:COORDINATOR_SETTINGS_HOME\bin\roadmap-number-stubs.exe" <edges-file>`

and transcribe its `N`/`sprint`/`wave` output verbatim (multi-sprint boundary assignment is hand

judgment it doesn't resolve). Covers only DECLARED edges. Format + the dependency-order

invariant it enforces: wiki.

2.1.6. **Fold to size — the baton is the parallel wave, not the idea.** Runs on 2.1.5's `wave`

output; sets how many stubs 2.1 scaffolds. `loe:` is the whole-baton t-shirt read.

- **Band: mostly M and L.** XS/S never ship alone — group them into one baton. XL only where a

group cannot cut smaller. An XXL stub means the roadmap is mis-made; go back to Phase 1.

- **Collapse the wave.** Same wave + pairwise-disjoint `scope:` + no `blocked_by` between

members → one baton, several specs. Same-file units never split, in any wave.

- **Split only on a real barrier** — a gate that cannot clear until the first half lands, or a

decision the first half's output determines.

- **Re-price on scope change**, or a stale size routes a go-do-it through a full lifecycle.

Distinct ideas are sections, never batons; each keeps its cluster id in `covers:`.

2.2. Body, per stub, in order: title; why-its-own-session paragraph; `## What this covers`; `##

Reference materials (read first)` (cite `OVERVIEW.md § <name>` + research-corpus, by name never

number); `## Specification`; `## Acceptance criteria`; `## Recommended next steps for the

picking-up EM` (3–7); `## Anti-scope`; `## Soft seams` (may be `- None identified`, must be

2.3. `STUB-INDEX.md` — a query callout, never a hand table (template + rationale: wiki).

2.4. Before any fan-out: run `audit-roadmap <run-id>`; then **what it cannot check** —

confirm every wave-N stub set is file-disjoint per `scope:`. Disjointness is now a *merge*

predicate spent at 2.1.6, so any disjoint pair surviving here is an un-run fold, not a

licensed parallelism: fold it and re-number.

product-coupled signal (`PM `-prefix, named stakeholder, decision/approval/policy/scope/

user-facing language). Template + detection rule: wiki.

<!-- engine-gap: field=roadmap_planning.pm_gate_keyword_detection producer=unknown memo=2026-08-27-claude-klabauter-em-doe-unmarked-obligations-and-four-lost-markers.md -->

2.6–2.7. Phase 2 close (Shape W, `snippets/resolve-coordinator-bin.md`):

`& "$env:COORDINATOR_SETTINGS_HOME\bin\audit-roadmap.exe" <run-id>` — one gate, five audits (stub-coverage, `ready_to_fire`

uniqueness, pm-gates cross-reference, dependency-order). Exit 1 blocks close and names the

offender. `kind: roadmap-baton` frontmatter is also `bin/lint-frontmatter`-clean.

2.8. Sequential reviews — same altitude rule and sidecar contract as Step 1.5.5. Domain reviewer

skippable when its Step-1.5.5 findings are already pinned into the stub ACs verbatim AND each

stub becomes a downstream `coordinator:plan` that re-applies the lens at PLAN altitude — record

the skip rationale in the roadmap dir.

**Exit:** every KEEP cluster named in exactly one stub's `covers:`; every stub `loe:` M–XL;

frontmatter validator-clean, `## Soft seams` present; STUB-INDEX regenerates; resolutions doc

covers every conflict; `audit-roadmap <run-id>` exits 0; primary review integrated, domain

integrated or its skip recorded; Step 2.4's disjointness check done.

---

## After Phase 2 — the stubs go live

Phase 2 close IS the deliverable. A stub is a baton; a fresh session picks it up via `/pickup`

whenever ready. This skill has no execution phase and never invokes `coordinator:plan` (§

Anti-scope — this session cannot outlive the roadmap's whole execution). Three mechanisms live

downstream, owned by other sessions, not this run: a readiness view, gate transitions, and the

end-of-roadmap review — full spec in `residue/downstream-mechanisms.md`.

---

## Output artifacts

`inventory.md` · `clusters.md` · `reconciliation.md` · `COORDINATOR-RESOLUTIONS.md` (if any) ·

`research-corpus/<topic-slug>.md` × N · `OVERVIEW.md` · `peer-team-asks.md` · `STUB-INDEX.md` ·

`pm-gates.md` (all under `state/roadmap/<run-id>/`) · `state/handoffs/{YYYY-MM-DD}_{HHMMSS}_

roadmap-{stub_id}.md` × N, clustered by `roadmap_id:` alongside ad-hoc spinoffs.

## Contact points

`/handoff`, `/spinoff`, `/repo-setup`, `/workstream-start`, `/workstream-complete`,

`/workday-start`, boot-time archival sweep — read `residue/contact-points-checklist.md` before

touching any on behalf of a roadmap stub.

## Anti-scope

- Cross-repo roadmap rollup. Single-repo only for v1.

- Auto-trigger gate-meaningfulness on `/pickup` (only on `awaiting_gate → ready_to_fire`).

- Render dashboards or HTML. The query callout in markdown is the surface.

- **Replace `coordinator:plan` for single-plan work.** A picking-up EM keeps `deployment_state:

in_flight`, writes `predecessor: none`, cites `roadmap_id/stub_id` in the plan-doc's "Why this

plan" — never a `roadmap_parent:` field until textual citation proves insufficient (PM call).

## See also

`commands/distill.md` · `coordinator:plan` · `coordinator:brainstorming` ·

`coordinator/skills/shape/SKILL.md` · `coordinator:goal-setting`