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Add project-level scope assessment to brainstorming pipeline#443

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obra merged 2 commits intodevfrom
wip/project-decomposition
Feb 10, 2026
Merged

Add project-level scope assessment to brainstorming pipeline#443
obra merged 2 commits intodevfrom
wip/project-decomposition

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@obra
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@obra obra commented Feb 9, 2026

Summary

Stacked on #441 (architecture guidance).

  • Brainstorming now assesses scope as the first step: if a request describes multiple independent subsystems, it flags this immediately and helps decompose into sub-projects before asking detailed design questions
  • Spec reviewer checks that specs are focused enough for a single plan
  • Writing-plans has a backstop scope check if brainstorming missed it

Testing

Ran 5 end-to-end scenarios with claude -p --plugin-dir:

Scenario Expected Result
Small greenfield CLI tool No scope flag PASS
Brownfield messy (monolithic server.js) Flag architecture PARTIAL (pipe-mode limitation)
Brownfield clean (well-structured API) Follow existing patterns PASS
Large single system (Rust markdown editor) No false decomposition PASS
Massive multi-system (Salesforce competitor) Strong scope decomposition PASS

Initial version had scope assessment as a separate step after "Understanding the idea" — model skipped it. Fixed by inlining as first bullet in Understanding phase. Retest confirmed.

Test plan

  • Large scope triggers decomposition (Salesforce competitor test)
  • Small scope does not over-decompose (CLI tool test)
  • Large single system not falsely decomposed (markdown editor test)
  • Scope assessment fires before clarifying questions (v2 retest)

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✨ Finishing touches
🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)
  • Create PR with unit tests
  • Post copyable unit tests in a comment
  • Commit unit tests in branch wip/project-decomposition

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obra added 2 commits February 8, 2026 16:50
Brainstorming now assesses whether a project is too large for a single
spec and helps decompose into sub-projects. Spec reviewer checks scope.
Writing-plans has a backstop if brainstorming missed it.
Testing showed the model skipped scope assessment when it was a
separate step after "Understanding the idea." Inlining it as the
first thing in understanding ensures it fires before detailed questions.
@obra obra force-pushed the wip/architecture-guidance branch from c1b7de3 to b051932 Compare February 9, 2026 00:50
@obra obra force-pushed the wip/project-decomposition branch from 503827a to 84cd6e7 Compare February 9, 2026 00:50
@obra obra changed the base branch from wip/architecture-guidance to dev February 10, 2026 18:42
@obra obra merged commit 8abf9d0 into dev Feb 10, 2026
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