Templates

Predefined structures for the Explore → Specify → Plan → TDD → Audit → Commit workflow

What is a Template?

A template is a structured document model that guides the creation of specifications, implementation plans, and task lists. Templates ensure a consistent and complete approach for each feature.

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                                │
│  /work:work-specify                /work:work-plan                       │
│  ─────────────                ──────────                       │
│        │                           │                           │
│        ▼                           ▼                           │
│  ┌──────────────┐           ┌──────────────┐                   │
│  │ spec.md      │           │ plan.md      │                   │
│  │ (User Stories│    +      │ (Architecture│                   │
│  │  Criteres)   │           │  Phases)     │                   │
│  └──────────────┘           └──────────────┘                   │
│                                    │                           │
│                                    ▼                           │
│                             ┌──────────────┐                   │
│                             │ tasks.md     │                   │
│                             │ (Taches      │                   │
│                             │  detaillees) │                   │
│                             └──────────────┘                   │
│                                                                │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

File Structure

Templates are in .claude/templates/:

.claude/templates/
├── spec-template.md     # Functional specification template
├── plan-template.md     # Implementation plan template
└── tasks-template.md    # Task breakdown template

The 3 Templates

1. spec-template.md - Functional Specification

Used by /work:work-specify to create a specification centered on user value.

Main content:

Section	Description
Summary	1-3 sentences on the value delivered
User Stories	Prioritized stories (P1=MVP, P2, P3)
Edge Cases	Edge cases and error scenarios
Functional Requirements	FR-001, FR-002... testable
Key Entities	Simplified data model
Success Criteria	Measurable metrics
Out of Scope	What is explicitly excluded

User Story format:

### US1 - [Title] (Priority: P1) MVP

**As a** [user]
**I want** [action]
**So that** [benefit]

**Acceptance criteria**:
1. **Given** [state], **When** [action], **Then** [result]

2. plan-template.md - Implementation Plan

Used by /work:work-plan to define the technical architecture and phases.

Main content:

Section	Description
Technical Context	Stack, constraints, performance
Project Structure	File tree
Impacted Files	To create, to modify, tests
Chosen Approach	Architecture + justification
Phases	Breakdown into sequential phases
Risks	Impact, probability, mitigation

Phase format:

### Phase 2: User Story 1 (P1 - MVP)

**Goal**: [Take from the spec]

#### Tests (if TDD)
- [ ] T004 - [P] Unit test [component]

#### Implementation
- [ ] T006 - [P] Implement [model]
- [ ] T007 - Implement [service] (depends on T006)

**Checkpoint**: US1 functional and testable.

3. tasks-template.md - Task Breakdown

Generated by /work:work-plan to list atomic tasks with dependencies.

Main content:

Section	Description
Phase 1: Setup	Structure and dependencies
Phase 2: Foundation	Blocking infrastructure
Phase 3+: User Stories	Tasks per story
Phase N: Polish	Documentation, refactoring
Dependencies	Execution graph

Markers:

Marker	Meaning
[P]	Parallelizable task
[US1]	Belongs to User Story 1
[US2]	Belongs to User Story 2

Workflow with Templates

Associated commands

/work:work-specify "My feature"
      │
      ▼
  Generates: specs/my-feature/spec.md
      │
      ▼
/work:work-clarify (optional)
      │
      ▼
/work:work-plan "My feature"
      │
      ▼
  Generates: specs/my-feature/plan.md
             specs/my-feature/tasks.md

Generated structure

specs/[feature]/
├── spec.md           # Functional specification
├── plan.md           # Implementation plan
├── tasks.md          # Task breakdown
└── clarifications.md # Clarifications history (optional)

Conventions

Priorities

Priority	Meaning	When to use
P1	Essential MVP	Minimum viable feature
P2	Important	Significantly improves UX
P3	Nice-to-have	Can be deferred

Identifiers

Prefix	Type	Example
US	User Story	US1, US2, US3
FR	Functional Requirement	FR-001, FR-002
SC	Success Criterion	SC-001, SC-002
T	Task	T001, T002

Parallelization

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                                │
│  Tasks marked [P]              Tasks without [P]               │
│  ──────────────────            ──────────────                  │
│                                                                │
│  Can run                       Have sequential                 │
│  in parallel                   dependencies                    │
│                                                                │
│  ┌─────┐  ┌─────┐             ┌─────┐                          │
│  │T001 │  │T002 │             │T003 │                          │
│  │ [P] │  │ [P] │             │     │                          │
│  └──┬──┘  └──┬──┘             └──┬──┘                          │
│     │        │                   │                             │
│     └────┬───┘                   ▼                             │
│          │                  ┌─────┐                            │
│          ▼                  │T004 │ (depends on T003)          │
│     [Merge]                 └─────┘                            │
│                                                                │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Complete Example

1. Specification (excerpt)

# Specification: User Authentication

## User Stories

### US1 - Basic login (P1) MVP

**As a** visitor
**I want** to log in with email/password
**So that** I can access my account

**Acceptance criteria**:
1. **Given** an existing user,
   **When** they enter valid credentials,
   **Then** they are redirected to the dashboard

2. Plan (excerpt)

## Impacted Files

### To create
| File | Responsibility |
|------|----------------|
| `src/services/auth.ts` | Authentication service |
| `src/components/LoginForm.tsx` | Login form |

### Phase 2: User Story 1 (P1 - MVP)

- [ ] T004 - [P] [US1] Create AuthService in `src/services/auth.ts`
- [ ] T005 - [US1] Implement LoginForm (depends on T004)

3. Tasks (excerpt)

## Phase 3: User Story 1 - Login (P1) MVP

### US1 Implementation

- [ ] T004 - [P] [US1] Create AuthService in `src/services/auth.ts`
- [ ] T005 - [P] [US1] Create types in `src/types/auth.ts`
- [ ] T006 - [US1] Implement LoginForm in `src/components/LoginForm.tsx`
- [ ] T007 - [US1] Add route `/login` in `src/routes/index.ts`

**Checkpoint**: US1 functional - user can log in.

Best Practices

Specification (spec.md)

• Focus on user value: no technical details
• Independent user stories: each story testable on its own
• Measurable criteria: avoid the vague ("fast", "simple")
• Maximum 3 clarifications: make informed choices otherwise

Plan (plan.md)

• Justify choices: explain why this architecture
• Identify risks: anticipate problems
• Clear phases: checkpoints at each step

Tasks (tasks.md)

• Exact paths: include file paths
• Fine granularity: 1 task = 1 potential commit
• Explicit dependencies: use [P] for parallelization

See also

• Explore → Specify → Plan → TDD → Audit → Commit Workflow - Complete workflow
• /work:work-specify - Specification command
• /work:work-plan - Planning command
• /work:work-clarify - Clarification of ambiguities