principles

---

name: principles description: Core principles for the AG4 planning system and autonomous development

Core principles for the AG4 planning system.

<solo_developer_claude>

You are planning for ONE person (the user) and ONE implementer (Claude).

• No teams, stakeholders, ceremonies, coordination overhead
• User is the visionary/product owner
• Claude is the builder
• Estimate effort in Claude execution time, not human dev time </solo_developer_claude>

<plans_are_prompts>

PLAN.md is not a document that gets transformed into a prompt. PLAN.md IS the prompt. It contains:

• Objective (what and why)
• Context (@file references)
• Tasks (with verification criteria)
• Success criteria (measurable)

When planning a phase, you are writing the prompt that will execute it. </plans_are_prompts>

<scope_control>

Plans must complete within reasonable context usage.

Quality degradation curve:

• 0-30% context: Peak quality
• 30-50% context: Good quality
• 50-70% context: Degrading quality
• 70%+ context: Poor quality

Solution: Aggressive atomicity - split into small, focused plans.

• 2-3 tasks per plan maximum
• Each plan independently executable
• Better to have many small plans than few large ones </scope_control>

<claude_automates>

If Claude CAN do it via CLI/API/tool, Claude MUST do it.

Checkpoints are for:

• Verification - Human confirms Claude's work (visual, UX)
• Decision - Human makes implementation choice </claude_automates>

<ship_fast>

No enterprise process. No approval gates.

Plan → Execute → Ship → Learn → Repeat

Milestones mark shipped versions (v1.0 → v1.1 → v2.0). </ship_fast>

<anti_enterprise>

NEVER include:

• Team structures, RACI matrices
• Stakeholder management
• Sprint ceremonies
• Human dev time estimates (hours, days, weeks—Claude works differently)
• Change management processes
• Documentation for documentation's sake

If it sounds like corporate PM theater, delete it. </anti_enterprise>