Plan Lab — deep analysis for implementation plans

Two modes for pressure-testing and elevating a written plan, roadmap, or strategy:

• Genius — forensic first-principles critique: understand the plan completely, then find the one critical flaw, stress-test every assumption (execution sequencing, resource realism, failure modes, milestones), and reconstruct a hardened version.
• Alien — paradigm transcendence: shed human cognitive defaults, dissolve the frame, transplant structures from other domains, and future-proof the plan beyond conventional analysis.

First: if an AGENTS.md file exists, read it for project context, architecture, and conventions.

Pick the mode

If the trigger already implies a direction, go straight there — genius-review / pressure-test / find-flaws / forensic → Genius; transcend / push-deeper / alien / escape-local-optima → Alien. If it's ambiguous, ask:

AskUserQuestion:
  question: "Which direction for this plan?"
  header: "Mode"
  options:
    - label: "Genius — critique & harden"
      description: "Forensic first-principles review: execution sequencing, resource realism, failure modes, then reconstruct a hardened plan."
    - label: "Alien — transcend & future-proof"
      description: "Break the paradigm: dissolve the frame, transplant structures from other domains, design for future capabilities."
  multiSelect: false

Then load and follow the chosen mode's reference in full:

• Genius → read references/genius.md
• Alien → read references/alien.md

Two-stage pipeline when warranted: Genius first (perfect within the paradigm), then Alien (transcend it).

Write back to the plan file (BOTH modes)

This is a gate in the planning chain, not a standalone chat exercise — the improved plan must land back in the plan file, or the next stage never sees it. After the chosen mode's Output steps 1–4:

1. Edit the plan file in place (Edit tool, not a rewrite) with the integrated changes — auto-applied critical items plus any user-selected ones. Append a brief findings section (or update it if present) so a future reader doesn't need this session's transcript:

   • Genius mode → ## Genius Review Findings
   • Alien mode → ## Transcendence Findings

2. Update the plan's YAML frontmatter — add or update the mode's stamp, preserving all other existing fields (status, source_backlog, refinement_rounds, etc.) as-is:

   • Genius → genius_reviewed: YYYY-MM-DD
   • Alien → transcended: YYYY-MM-DD (preserve any existing genius_reviewed:)

3. Safety check and commit:

   git status --short

   If any deletions (D) appear that you didn't intend, STOP and confirm with the user before proceeding.
   Git discipline: ac-pipeline/references/commit-discipline.md — pathspec-only commits, no wildcard adds / stash, commit=push, deletion check.

   git add "$PLAN_FILE"
   git commit -m "docs(plan): <genius review — {N} fixes | alien transcendence — {N} insights> integrated
   
   Plan: {PLAN_FILE}
   Auto-applied: {critical count}
   User-selected: {selected count}
   
   Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>"
   git push

When to Use

• Before committing to a major implementation effort
• When evaluating project plans, feature roadmaps, or strategic initiatives
• When something "feels right" but hasn't been stress-tested, or when timeline/resource constraints feel aggressive
• When conventional planning feels complete but insufficient, or the real leverage lives outside the current frame
• Ordering: runs AFTER /ac-polish / /ac-polish (plan is already settled and hygienic) and BEFORE /ac-beadify (beads are cut from the pressure-tested version) — a review gate in the planning chain, not a detour. When running both modes, Genius precedes Alien.