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Implementation-plan review guide

How to review an AI-generated implementation plan before coding starts

A polished implementation plan can still contain the wrong assumptions. The purpose of plan review is not to correct grammar. It is to prevent an agent from efficiently implementing an incomplete or incorrect decision.

  • Architecture
  • Security
  • Failure states
  • Rollout and rollback
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human review workflow
Human approval
Implementation plan review
## Rollout and rollback

Deploy progressively, monitor the acceptance signal, and stop when the agreed threshold is crossed.

Structured revision context ready
Reference workflow

Turn human attention into a repeatable stage.

The artifact, feedback, revision, and approval state stay explicit from start to finish.

  1. 01

    Ask the agent to prepare an explicit plan.

    Start from an explicit artifact and named owner.

  2. 02

    Open the plan in Commentary.

    Keep the current state and unresolved context visible.

  3. 03

    Assign domain reviewers.

    Keep the current state and unresolved context visible.

  4. 04

    Separate blocking feedback from suggestions.

    Keep the current state and unresolved context visible.

  5. 05

    Resolve contradictions and ask the agent to revise.

    Keep the current state and unresolved context visible.

  6. 06

    Review Latest and Changes where relevant.

    Keep the current state and unresolved context visible.

  7. 07

    Approve implementation only after verification.

    The next stage begins only after verification.

What to review

Review the decision system around the code, not only the proposed file edits.

Problem definitionScope and non-goalsExisting architecture assumptionsUser journeysData modelAPI contractsSecurity boundariesError statesMigration and compatibilityTesting strategyObservabilityRolloutRollbackOwnershipAcceptance criteria

Why chat is not enough

Chat is useful for exploration, but decisions become fragmented as messages accumulate. It becomes unclear which objection is blocking, which answer superseded an earlier one, and whether the final plan incorporates the accepted resolution.

Example review comments

Good comments name the missing decision and the evidence required to resolve it.

  • This assumes all existing tenants use the new permission model. Identify the migration path for legacy tenants.
  • The failure state describes logging but not what the user sees.
  • Name the rollback owner and the metric that triggers rollback.
  • This acceptance criterion does not cover concurrent updates.
  • The API change appears breaking. State the compatibility strategy.
Continue the workflow

Use the next page that matches the artifact or boundary you need to review.

Codex integration

Open and revise plans from Codex.

Read next

Diffs Are Not Documents

Why complete artifacts need semantic review.

Read next

Security and access

Understand provider, preview, token, and human approval boundaries.

Review boundaries
Human review, made explicit

Put the workflow into practice.

A practical checklist for reviewing a coding-agent implementation plan before the agent writes code.

Try an implementation-plan reviewConnect a coding agent