Capture Features

The Plan stage is where features enter the system. It's designed for quick capture - you don't need to know everything about a feature to add it. Get the name and description in, then refine later.

Adding a feature

From the Plan view, select Add Feature. You need two things:

Feature name - a short, descriptive name for what this behaviour does. Good names describe the action: "Lock Gate", "Change Baking Temperature", "Sample Pressure Sensor". Avoid implementation names like "Timer ISR Handler" - describe what the system does, not how it does it.

Feature description - what this feature does and why it exists. A few sentences is enough at this stage. You're capturing intent, not writing the full specification.

Click the add button. Your feature appears in the planning list.

P-numbers

Every feature in the Plan stage gets a P-number - P1, P2, P3, and so on. These are planning identifiers that track features while they're being proposed and discussed. When a feature is approved in the Review stage, its P-number changes to a permanent F-number (F1, F2, F3).

P-numbers are assigned automatically. You don't need to manage them.

Editing features

Open any feature in the planning list to update its name, description, or add comments. Features in the Plan stage are fully editable - nothing is locked until approval.

Don't overthink the description at this stage. It's better to capture a feature quickly with a rough description than to delay because you're not sure of the exact wording. You can refine the description at any time before nomination.

Nominating for review

A proposed feature is one that's been added but not yet confirmed as necessary. Nomination is the step where stakeholders agree: yes, this feature belongs in the project.

Open the feature and select Move to Review. The feature is now nominated and appears in the Review stage, ready for prioritisation and categorisation.

Not every proposed feature gets nominated. Some features are added during brainstorming and later determined to be unnecessary, out of scope, or better handled as part of another feature. That's fine - the Plan stage is meant to be a low-friction capture space.

What makes a good feature at this stage

A feature in the Plan stage doesn't need to be complete. It needs to be:

Named clearly - someone reading just the name should understand roughly what it does
Described enough - a few sentences explaining the behaviour and why it's needed
Scoped to one behaviour - if you're describing two different things, that's two features

You don't need use cases, requirements, or categorisation yet. Those come in the Review and Create stages. The Plan stage captures the "what" - the "how" and the "how well" come later.

In the Reference Project, switch to the Plan tab to see features at various stages of description - some detailed, some minimal. Both are valid at this stage.