Compound Workflow

The compound workflow combines /adlc.plan (planning) with /adlc (execution) for complex tasks that benefit from a HITL review gate before implementation.

When to Use

Scenario	Use	Why
Single story, clear scope	`/adlc` alone	Direct PO→CA→Specialist is faster
Multi-project, 100+ files	Compound	Review file inventory before touching code
Destructive operations	Compound	Validate scope before archive merges, cleanups
Ambiguous requirements	Compound	PO+CA+Explore clarify before specialists execute

Flow

/adlc.plan [task]
  │
  ├─ Phase 0: Product-Owner (requirements, INVEST stories, scope boundaries)
  ├─ Phase 0: Cloud-Architect (architecture, file inventory, delegation plan)
  ├─ Phase 1: Explore agents x3 (parallel codebase research)
  ├─ Phase 2: Plan agent (synthesize implementation plan)
  ├─ Phase 3: Write self-contained plan file
  └─ Phase 4: Present to HITL
         │
         ▼
    HITL reviews plan file
    - Validates PO scope boundaries
    - Reviews CA delegation table
    - Checks Explore findings
    - Approves or requests changes
         │
         ▼
/adlc [path/to/plan-file.md]
  │
  ├─ Step 1.5: Plan File Validation
  │    - Reads plan YAML frontmatter (scope_id, coordination_logs)
  │    - Verifies PO+CA logs exist and are within 96h TTL
  │    - Skips Steps 2-3 (PO+CA already completed in /adlc.plan)
  │
  ├─ Step 4: Specialist Execution
  │    - Reads ## ADLC: Specialist Delegation table from plan file
  │    - Delegates to each specialist IN ORDER
  │    - Each specialist gets: Requirements + Architecture + Codebase Findings
  │
  └─ Step 5: PDCA Cross-Validation
       - MCP + Native API + CLI + Visual verification
       - Autonomous until >=99.5% accuracy
       - Max 3 cycles before HITL escalation

Plan File Format

The plan file is self-contained — a new /adlc session can consume it without the original session context.

---
plan_version: "1.1.0"
scope_id: "refactor-auth-services"
created: "2026-04-07T10:00:00Z"
coordination_logs:
  product_owner: "tmp/myproject/coordination-logs/product-owner-2026-04-07.json"
  cloud_architect: "tmp/myproject/coordination-logs/cloud-architect-2026-04-07.json"
specialist_sequence:
  - agent: "python-engineer"
    scope: "Implement auth module refactoring"
  - agent: "qa-engineer"
    scope: "Create integration tests"
ttl_hours: 96
---

Required Sections

Section	Source	Purpose
`## ADLC: Context`	HITL + PO	Why this change, problem statement
`## ADLC: Requirements`	Product-Owner	INVEST stories, ACs, scope boundaries
`## ADLC: Architecture`	Cloud-Architect	Technical approach, file inventory, ADRs
`## ADLC: Codebase Findings`	Explore agents	Existing code to reuse, patterns, tech debt
`## ADLC: Implementation Plan`	Plan agent	Ordered steps, file paths, line references
`## ADLC: Verification`	CA + QA	Test strategy, quality gates, PDCA approach
`## ADLC: Specialist Delegation`	Cloud-Architect	Agent, files, task, dependencies table

TTL and Scope Matching

The /adlc command validates plan files before skipping PO+CA:

Plan detection: $ARGUMENTS contains .md path with plan_version in frontmatter
Scope matching: scope_id in plan file maps to coordination log task_scope
Log validation: Both PO+CA logs exist, valid JSON, status: success/approved
TTL check: Logs within 96h window (configurable via ADLC_COORD_LOG_TTL_HOURS)
Safe default: Any check failure falls through to full PO+CA coordination

Example Session

# Session 1: Planning
$ claude
> /adlc.plan "Refactor authentication across user-service, auth-service, and gateway"
# ... PO produces stories, CA produces delegation plan, Explore finds existing patterns
# Plan file written to ~/.claude/plans/adlc-plan-2026-04-07.md

# HITL reviews the plan file, approves

# Session 2: Execution (can be same session or new one)
> /adlc ~/.claude/plans/adlc-plan-2026-04-07.md
# Step 1.5 validates plan + finds PO+CA logs from Session 1
# Step 4 delegates to specialists from the plan's delegation table
# Step 5 PDCA validates until >=99.5%

Comparison: /adlc vs /adlc.plan vs Native Plan Mode

Capability	Native Plan Mode	/adlc	/adlc.plan + /adlc
PO+CA coordination	No (deadlock)	Yes	Yes (Phase 0)
HITL review gate	Plan file only	No pre-execution gate	Plan file + approval
Specialist delegation	No	Yes (Step 4)	Yes (from plan table)
Codebase research	Explore only	After CA	Phase 1 (3 parallel)
Evidence pipeline	None	Full	Full
PDCA validation	No	Yes	Yes
Blast radius control	100% (can't edit)	Hook-enforced	Plan review + hooks
Best for	Simple research	Single stories	Complex multi-project

ADLC Workflow — The mandatory coordination pattern
Product Management — INVEST stories and sprint planning

When to Use​

Flow​

Plan File Format​

Required Sections​

TTL and Scope Matching​

Example Session​

Comparison: /adlc vs /adlc.plan vs Native Plan Mode​

Related​