RPI Workflow Skill

This skill helps agents and operators navigate the Research → Plan → Implement (RPI) pattern for systematic software development.

Usage

Invoke this skill when:

• •Starting a new RPI project - Need templates and structure for research/plan artifacts.
• •Transitioning between phases - Ensuring proper handoff criteria are met.
• •Validating artifacts - Checking research.md against FAR criteria or plan.md against FACTS criteria.
• •Understanding phase constraints - Learning what's allowed/forbidden in each phase.

Phase-Specific Guidance

Research Phase:

• •Produce .rpi/projects/<project-id>/research.md following the template.
• •Maintain read-only posture—no solution proposals.
• •Cite all sources inline (e.g., source.md — Section 2).
• •Validate against FAR: Factual, Actionable, Relevant.

Plan Phase:

• •Produce .rpi/projects/<project-id>/plan.md following the template.
• •Reference facts from research.md—no unsupported assumptions.
• •Decompose into atomic tasks with pass/fail verification.
• •Validate against FACTS: Feasible, Atomic, Clear, Testable, Scoped.

Implement Phase:

• •Execute tasks from plan.md sequentially.
• •Mark tasks complete only after verification passes.
• •Halt and recurse to Plan if task is impossible.
• •Create .rpi/projects/<project-id>/SIGNOFF when all tasks complete.

Scripts

RPI Project Scaffolder

Location: .github/skills/rpi-workflow/scripts/rpi-new.sh

Creates a new RPI project directory structure with a date prefix (yyyymmdd).

Usage:

bash .github/skills/rpi-workflow/scripts/rpi-new.sh "Project Title"

What it does:

• •Validates .rpi/ directory exists in repository root
• •Calculates a date prefix (e.g., 20260213)
• •Creates .rpi/projects/yyyymmdd-project-slug/research.md with standard template
• •Generates URL-friendly slug from project title

Dependencies:

• •Bash shell (standard on macOS/Linux)
• •No Node.js or package manager dependencies

Example:

# Creates .rpi/projects/20260213-authentication-refactor/research.md
bash .github/skills/rpi-workflow/scripts/rpi-new.sh "Authentication Refactor"

Resources

• •Research Template - Boilerplate structure for research.md files.
• •Plan Template - Boilerplate structure for plan.md files.
• •Prompt Examples - Sample prompts for phase transitions.
• •Validation Guide - How to check FAR and FACTS criteria.

Technical Notes

This skill works with:

• •Global instructions: .github/copilot-instructions.md (RPI constitution)
• •Scoped instructions: .github/instructions/*.instructions.md (phase-specific constraints)
• •Governance: AGENTS.md (role definitions and handoff rules)
• •Prompt entry points: .github/prompts/*.prompt.md (operator UX helpers)

All artifacts are repository-backed and validated by CI (.github/workflows/rpi-validate.yml).