RIPER is a five-phase workflow that prevents Claude from doing what it loves most: immediately writing code before understanding the problem.
The Five Phases
1. Research - Claude reads, explores, asks questions. No code changes.
PHASE: Research
Read the auth module and explain how sessions work today.
Don't change anything. Just report what you find.2. Innovate - Brainstorm approaches. Compare tradeoffs.
PHASE: Innovate
Propose 3 different ways to add OAuth support.
For each: effort, risk, and what it breaks.3. Plan - Pick an approach and break it into steps.
PHASE: Plan
Go with approach #2. Break it into ordered steps.
List every file that needs to change.4. Execute - Build it step by step, verifying as you go.
PHASE: Execute
Implement step 1. Run tests after. Don't move to step 2
until step 1's tests pass.5. Review - Check the work against the original goal.
PHASE: Review
Review everything we changed against the original goal.
Did we miss anything? Any regressions?Enforce It in CLAUDE.md
Follow the RIPER workflow for any task touching 3+ files:
Research first, then Innovate, Plan, Execute, Review.
Don't write code during Research or Innovate phases.When to Use
- New features that touch multiple modules
- Refactors where you’re not sure of the best approach
- Onboarding to an unfamiliar codebase
- Any time Claude’s first instinct would be wrong