Plan Rules
Customize how clarifications and plans are presented based on your role and professional background
Plan Rules supports the Plan phase by personalizing how Verdent presents requirements, clarifications, and implementation plans. Use built-in role-based templates as starting points or create fully custom rules that match your thinking style and work habits.
What You'll Learn
- How Plan Rules customize plan presentation
- Built-in role templates (Frontend, Test, Product Manager)
- Creating custom plan rules
- When plan rules are applied
What Plan Rules Can Customize
Plan Rules control how Verdent presents plans in Plan Mode:
- Summary-detail-summary - Executive summary upfront, detailed steps in middle, impact summary at end
- Diagram-first - Visual representation leads, text provides supporting details
- Tabular vs narrative - Structured tables for scannable data, prose for contextual explanations
- Section ordering - Customize which sections appear first and define hierarchy
Use summary-detail-summary for stakeholder reviews where quick comprehension matters. Use diagram-first when architectural understanding is critical before diving into implementation.
- High-level strategic - Focuses on "what" and "why" with minimal technical details
- Detailed technical - Includes implementation specifics, code patterns, architecture decisions
- Code examples - Control whether code appears (include/exclude, full vs snippets, diff format)
- Testing content - Include by default for QA workflows, omit for PM-focused plans
Match content depth to your audience. Use high-level strategic for cross-team collaboration and detailed technical when implementing alone or with senior developers.
- Mermaid diagrams - Flowcharts, sequence diagrams, state machines (auto-generated or explicit)
- DOM hierarchy trees - Component structure in tree-style folder format
- Wireframes - UI mockups and layout sketches
- Style tables - CSS specifications with merged cells, organized by component
Mermaid diagrams are auto-generated from plan content when requested. Explicitly ask for specific diagram types in your plan rules if you want them by default.
- Omit by default - Testing, styles, backward compatibility (reduces plan length)
- Required elements - Acceptance criteria, edge cases, KPIs (ensures production-readiness)
- Clarification preferences - Multiple rounds vs single confirmation vs no confirmation
Start with omissions to keep plans concise, then add required elements only for what you actually need. You can always request omitted content in specific plan sessions.
- Frontend - Visual architecture with diagrams, DOM trees, style tables, omits testing by default
- QA/Test - Test case tables with coverage matrices, boundary value analysis, traceability
- Product Manager - Business requirements only, diagrams/wireframes, no code snippets
Start with a role template and customize from there. Most developers use Frontend or QA templates as a base and adjust specific sections to match their workflow.
Role-Based Plan Templates
Verdent provides professional role templates that automatically adjust plan structure, content depth, and presentation style:
Focus: Technical implementation plans with visual structure
Key Characteristics:
- Comprehensive codebase research before planning
- Mermaid flowcharts and state diagrams for interaction flows
- DOM hierarchy in tree-style folder format
- Style tables with merged cells for CSS properties
- Omits: Testing content and styles by default (unless requested)
- Provides: Definitive solutions without multiple options
Best For: Frontend developers needing visual architecture and clear implementation paths
Focus: Comprehensive test case generation and quality assurance
Key Characteristics:
- Goal-oriented test design (business logic, security, stability)
- Structured test cases with 9-column Markdown tables
- Equivalence classes, boundary values, and key parameters
- Full coverage: normal, alternative, exception, and edge cases
- Executability focus with automation support
- Traceability to requirement points
Best For: QA engineers and test automation specialists needing systematic test coverage
Focus: Product requirements from business perspective
Key Characteristics:
- No code snippets or technical implementation
- Focuses on what and why, not how
- Sequence diagrams, flowcharts, and wireframes
- Requirement lists with priorities and Before/After comparisons
- Edge cases with handling strategies
- Data specifications with KPIs and event tracking
Best For: Product managers defining business requirements without technical pollution
Custom Plan Rules
Create personalized plan rules by defining:
Rule Components:
- Presentation Style - Summary-detail-summary, diagram-first, or tabular format
- Content Depth - High-level overview vs detailed implementation
- Omissions - What to exclude by default (testing, styles, backward compatibility)
- Required Elements - Mandatory sections (diagrams, acceptance criteria, data specs)
- Interaction Preferences - Clarification approach, confirmation requirements
In Plan Mode, click the Plan Rules button in the Input Box to quickly access and modify your plan rules.
Rule Application:
- Applies to all Plan Mode sessions
- Persists across workspace sessions
- Can be overridden with inline directives
- Works with custom subagents
Learn More: Create or edit Plan.md in your workspace to define custom plan rules using Markdown format.