In this article
Stage 6: Implementation
Overview
Implementation has the broadest tooling surface in the project lifecycle. This stage covers coding, content creation, prompt engineering, data analysis, and infrastructure work. The RPI lifecycle keeps Research, Plan, Implement, Review, and Follow-up distinct while providing structured execution guidance for complex tasks.
When You Enter This Stage
You enter Implementation after completing Stage 5: Sprint Planning with assigned work items. You also re-enter this stage from Stage 7: Review when rework is needed, from Stage 8: Delivery at the start of each new sprint, or from Stage 9: Operations for hotfixes.
NOTE
Prerequisites: Sprint planned with assigned work items. Development environment configured from Stage 1: Setup.
Available Tools
Primary Agents
| Tool | Type | How to Invoke | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| RPI Agent | Agent | Select RPI Agent | Coordinate the applicable RPI phase skills |
| gen-jupyter-notebook | Agent | Select gen-jupyter-notebook agent | Create data analysis notebooks |
| gen-streamlit-dashboard | Agent | Select gen-streamlit-dashboard agent | Generate Streamlit dashboards |
Prompts
| Tool | Type | How to Invoke | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| rpi | Prompt | /rpi | Coordinate the full RPI lifecycle |
| git-commit | Prompt | /git-commit | Stage and commit changes |
| git-commit-message | Prompt | /git-commit-message | Generate a commit message for staged changes |
Auto-Activated Instructions
All coding standard instructions activate automatically based on file type:
| Instruction | Activates On | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| csharp | **/*.cs | C# coding standards |
| python-script | **/*.py | Python scripting standards |
| bash | **/*.sh | Bash script standards |
| bicep | **/bicep/** | Bicep infrastructure standards |
| terraform | **/*.tf | Terraform infrastructure standards |
| workflows | .github/workflows/*.yml | GitHub Actions workflow standards |
| markdown | **/*.md | Markdown formatting rules |
| writing-style | **/*.md | Voice and tone conventions |
| hve-builder | AI artifacts | Prompt engineering authoring standards |
| hve-core-location | ** | Reference resolution for hve-core |
Skills
| Tool | How to Invoke | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| rpi-research | /rpi-research | Close a demonstrated evidence gap |
| rpi-plan | /rpi-plan | Create a plan, phase details, and independent critique |
| rpi-implement | /rpi-implement | Execute approved work and record change evidence |
| rpi-review | /rpi-review | Reconcile implementation evidence and route follow-up |
| hve-builder | Use hve-builder | Author or review prompts, instructions, agents, and skills |
| video-to-gif | Use video-to-gif | Convert video to optimized GIFs |
Role-Specific Guidance
Engineers are the primary users of Implementation, spending the majority of their engagement time here. Tech Leads contribute architecture-sensitive implementations. Data Scientists use notebook and dashboard generators. SREs handle infrastructure code. New Contributors start with guided tasks.
Starter Prompts
Full RPI Workflow
/rpi task="Implement the pagination logic for the /api/v2/search endpoint.
Add cursor-based pagination with a default page size of 50 and a maximum
of 200 results per request. Follow the existing pagination pattern in
src/api/handlers/list-resources.py."
Step-by-Step RPI Skills
Use the matching phase skills when you want more control over each phase.
/rpi-research Investigate how the existing list-resources handler in
src/api/handlers/list-resources.py implements pagination. Identify the
cursor encoding strategy, default and maximum page sizes, and response
envelope structure.
After research completes, plan the implementation:
/rpi-plan Create an implementation plan for adding cursor-based pagination
to the /api/v2/search endpoint following the patterns documented in the
research output.
Execute the plan:
/rpi-implement Build the webhook delivery system following the plan in
.copilot-tracking/plans/2026-07-13/webhook-delivery-plan.md and phase details in
.copilot-tracking/details/2026-07-13/webhook-delivery-phase-details.md. Start
with the event dispatcher component and implement the retry queue second.
Select gen-jupyter-notebook agent:
Create a data analysis notebook for the Q4 sales transactions dataset in
data/sales-q4-2025.parquet. Include data quality assessment, revenue trend
analysis by product category and region, and customer cohort segmentation
using RFM scoring with matplotlib visualizations.
After implementation, validate the changes:
/rpi-review Validate the pagination implementation against the plan.
Check cursor encoding, page size limits, response envelope consistency,
and error handling for invalid cursor values.
Stage Outputs and Next Stage
Implementation produces source code, documentation, notebooks, dashboards, prompt artifacts, and infrastructure definitions. Transition to Stage 7: Review when implementation is complete. Use /clear to reset context before starting the review cycle.
🤖 Crafted with precision by ✨Copilot following brilliant human instruction, then carefully refined by our team of discerning human reviewers.