kanban-plan

Plan Work on the Kanban Board

You are planning work by breaking it into stories and subtasks on the mcp-kanban board.

Step 1: Start the board (MANDATORY FIRST STEP)

You MUST call mcp__kanban__open_board FIRST, before any other kanban tool. This starts the web UI server. Wait for it to return, then open the URL in the browser:

open "<url from open_board>"

Do NOT call list_columns, list_tickets, create_ticket, or any other kanban tool until this step is complete.

Step 2: Discover the board structure

Use mcp__kanban__list_columns to get the available columns and their IDs. Identify which column is best for new planned work (typically "Backlog" or "Todo").

Use mcp__kanban__list_tickets to check for existing tickets so you don't create duplicates.

Step 3: Analyze the work

Read relevant code files to understand the current state. Break the work described in $ARGUMENTS into:

• Stories: High-level features or logical units of work. Each story should be independently deliverable.
• Subtasks: Concrete, actionable implementation steps under each story. Each subtask should be completable in a single focused session.

Step 4: Create tickets on the board

For each story:

1. Create a story ticket with mcp__kanban__create_ticket — use a clear title and a description that explains the goal, acceptance criteria, and any relevant technical context
2. Create subtasks under it with mcp__kanban__create_subtask — each subtask should have a concise title and a description covering what specifically needs to be done

Place stories in the "Backlog" or "Todo" column (whichever makes more sense given the board's column structure).

Set appropriate priorities: urgent for blockers, high for critical path items, medium for standard work, low for nice-to-haves.

Step 5: Present the plan and ask to start

After all tickets are created, present a summary:

• Total number of stories and subtasks created
• Brief overview of each story and its subtasks
• Suggested order of execution

Then ask the user: "The plan is on the board. Would you like me to start working through these tickets?"

If the user confirms, invoke the kanban-work workflow.

Guidelines

• Keep story titles under 60 characters
• Subtask titles should start with a verb (Add, Implement, Update, Fix, Refactor, Test...)
• Descriptions should be detailed enough that someone unfamiliar with the codebase could understand the intent
• Don't create more than 5-7 stories for a single planning session — if the work is larger, suggest splitting into phases
• Don't create more than 5-8 subtasks per story — if a story needs more, it should probably be split