Audit the Plan Before Execution

Lesson outcome

You will learn how to use Codex as a pre-flight reviewer of a plan, not just as a critic of the output after work is already done.

Why this matters in an agency

Bad plans create expensive cleanup. If the plan assumes missing data, omits a dependency, or misreads the user goal, the implementation can be beautifully executed and still wrong. Auditing the plan first is cheaper than fixing the result later.

Inputs, tools, and prerequisites

You need a real plan or task breakdown, the acceptance standard for the work, and any source notes or docs the plan should align with. This is where Codex acts best as a reviewer rather than a generator.

Step-by-step walkthrough

Hand Codex the plan and ask it to critique structure before execution begins. Prompt for missing steps, hidden dependencies, weak assumptions, and likely edge cases. Then ask a second question: what evidence does this plan assume but not yet show. This is how you expose the gap between a plausible plan and a defensible one.

Once Codex responds, separate findings into three buckets: blockers, refinements, and optional improvements. Blockers stop execution because the plan is incomplete or unsafe. Refinements make the plan better but do not invalidate it. Optional improvements can wait. This keeps the audit from turning into endless nitpicking.

Update the plan and rerun the critique if the changes are substantial. Do not jump back into implementation until the blockers are closed. When the plan is clean, record the audit notes so later reviewers understand why the structure changed.

Failure modes and verification checks

The major failure is treating every critique as equal. Another is letting the reviewer invent new scope instead of testing the stated objective. Verify the audit by checking that the final plan now has explicit acceptance criteria, dependencies, and evidence requirements.

Implementation checklist

• Submit the plan before execution starts.
• Ask for blockers, hidden assumptions, and missing evidence.
• Separate findings into blockers, refinements, and optional improvements.
• Update the plan before implementation begins.

Immediate next action

Take one current plan and run a pre-flight audit on it before any more work ships.