Chief of Staff Report: The Great Refactor Plan
Date: September 19, 2025
From: Chief Architect
To: Chief of Staff
Re: Architectural Assessment Results & Execution Plan
Executive Summary
Following comprehensive architectural assessment, we’ve identified the root cause of system instability: incomplete refactors and disabled core components rather than broken code. The system is ~75% complete but with critical connection points disabled.
Key Finding: Fixing two disabled components (QueryRouter and OrchestrationEngine) will unblock ~80% of MVP features.
Recommendation: Execute 7-week linear refactor sequence before any new feature development.
Current State Assessment
What Works (20% of MVP)
- Basic chat responses
- Intent classification
- Individual services (when called directly)
- Database layer
What’s Broken (80% of MVP)
- QueryRouter: Disabled (commented out)
- OrchestrationEngine: Never initialized
- All complex workflows
- Most integrations through chat
Root Cause
Multiple unfinished refactors from June-August created layers of workarounds that obscured the original architecture. Each “temporary” fix became permanent, creating architectural debt.
The Great Refactor Plan
Execution Philosophy: Inchworm Protocol
- Complete each refactor 100% before starting next
- No new features during refactor period
- Linear execution, no parallel work
- Test and lock each fix
Refactor Sequence (7 weeks)
- REFACTOR-1: Orchestration Core (2 weeks)
- Enable QueryRouter
- Initialize OrchestrationEngine
- Remove workarounds
- Unlocks: All complex workflows
- REFACTOR-2: Integration Cleanup (1 week)
- Single GitHub pattern
- Configuration validation
- Documentation fixes
- Unlocks: Clean integration patterns
- REFACTOR-3: Plugin Architecture (2 weeks)
- Extract integrations to plugins
- Define plugin interface
- Unlocks: MCP readiness, modularity
- REFACTOR-4: Intent Universal (1 week)
- Mandatory intent classification
- No bypass routes
- Unlocks: Consistent behavior
- REFACTOR-5: Validation Suite (1 week)
- Integration testing
- Performance monitoring
- Unlocks: Production confidence
Resource Requirements
Human PM Time
- Daily check-ins: 30 minutes
- Weekly reviews: 2 hours
- Testing/validation: 4 hours/week
- Total: ~10 hours/week
Agent Coordination
- Lead Developer: Primary implementation
- Claude Code: Infrastructure and testing
- Cursor: UI validation and QA
- Chief Architect: Design decisions and reviews
Risk Assessment
Risks
- Scope Creep: Temptation to add features
- Mitigation: Strict inchworm protocol
- Hidden Dependencies: Unknown workarounds
- Mitigation: Comprehensive testing at each stage
- Time Overrun: Refactors take longer
- Mitigation: No external deadline pressure
Opportunities
- Clean Architecture: Finally achieve original vision
- Development Velocity: 10x faster after refactors
- Learning Opportunity: Document for future projects
Success Metrics
Per Refactor
- GitHub issue creation works end-to-end
- No regression in working features
- Tests prevent future breaks
- Documentation updated
Overall Success
- 80% of MVP features working
- <2 second response time
- Zero critical bugs
- Clean architecture achieved
Next Steps
- Complete GitHub issue flow analysis
- Create GitHub issues for REFACTOR epics
- Update roadmap.md with new structure
- Brief Lead Developer on plan
Week 1 (Starting Monday)
- Begin REFACTOR-1
- Focus on QueryRouter enabling
- Test GitHub issue creation
- Document findings
Recommendation
Approve The Great Refactor plan with following conditions:
- Strict adherence to inchworm protocol
- No new features until refactors complete
- Daily progress tracking
- Weekly validation checkpoints
This investment of 7 weeks will transform Piper from a collection of working parts into a coherent, maintainable system capable of rapid feature development.
The alternative - continuing to build on broken foundations - guarantees accumulating technical debt and eventual system failure.