Planner Pattern — Failures

Pattern: Planner
Component: failures.md
Version: 1.2 | Updated: 2026-07-29

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Purpose

Recover when the Planner pattern is misapplied — without abandoning the gate.

Failure → detection → recovery

Failure	Detection	Recovery
Plan too vague	Coder re-asks topology mid-PR	Return to planner; force file/owner/verify/rollback rows
Plan too code-like	Plan contains full function bodies	Strip to interfaces and sequences; re-approve
Rubber-stamp approval	Approver cannot restate the plan	Invalidate approval; require teach-back
Scope creep	Diff exceeds planned paths	Freeze PR; replan delta; re-approve

Escalation from Planner failures

• Security-class impact during Planner → Security skill + human security owner
• Production SEV while misusing Planner → Hotfix containment first
• Learning after Planner containment → Root Cause

Do not

• Skip the Planner human gate “just this once” after a failure
• Delete Planner evidence to hide a bad run
• Replace Planner with unstructured chat under pressure

Related

• Checklist
• Enterprise notes
• Example

Changelog

• 1.2 (2026-07-29): Planner failure recovery table and escalation paths expanded.