Structured 5-phase development workflow - Research, Innovate, Plan, Execute, Review
A structured 5-phase workflow that prevents the most common AI-assisted development failure: jumping straight to implementation without sufficient understanding.
Research → Innovate → Plan → Execute → Review
Each phase has a clear goal and exit criteria. You must complete a phase before moving to the next.
Goal: Understand the problem space completely before proposing solutions.
Activities:
Exit criteria: You can answer "what exists, what is broken, and why" without looking at the code again.
Trigger: Start every non-trivial task here. Say: [RIPER: Research]
Goal: Generate multiple solution approaches before committing to one.
Activities:
Exit criteria: User has selected or approved an approach.
Trigger: Say: [RIPER: Innovate]
Goal: Create a precise, step-by-step implementation plan.
Activities:
Exit criteria: Plan is specific enough that a different engineer could implement it without asking questions.
Trigger: Say: [RIPER: Plan]
Goal: Implement exactly what was planned — no scope creep.
Rules:
Exit criteria: All planned changes are implemented and tests pass.
Trigger: Say: [RIPER: Execute]
Goal: Verify the implementation is correct and complete.
Activities:
Exit criteria: You can say "this is done" with confidence.
Trigger: Say: [RIPER: Review]
| Phase | Question to answer | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Research | What exists and what is broken? | Understanding |
| Innovate | What are the possible solutions? | Approach decision |
| Plan | Exactly what will change? | Step-by-step plan |
| Execute | Is the plan implemented? | Working code |
| Review | Is it correct and complete? | Confidence to ship |