task-decomposition

Overview

Large tasks fail in large ways. Decomposed tasks fail in small, fixable ways. This skill breaks any feature or project into atomic tasks — each independently implementable, testable, and deployable.

When to Use

• Before starting any feature that takes more than half a day
• When a task feels overwhelming or unclear
• When multiple people need to work in parallel

Process

Step 1: Identify the Deliverable

1. State what "done" looks like for the whole feature.
2. List all the things that must be true when it's complete.
3. Identify dependencies: what must exist before any task can start?

Verify: You can state the full feature goal in 2 sentences.

Step 2: Decompose Into Atomic Tasks

1. Break the feature into tasks where each task:
2. Can be completed in under 4 hours
3. Has a single, clear output
4. Can be verified independently
5. Can be reverted without breaking other tasks
6. Each task should be: [verb] [noun] so that [outcome]
7. ✅ "Add rate limiting to /api/login so that brute-force is prevented"
8. ❌ "Work on the login security stuff"

Verify: Every task is under 4 hours. Every task has a clear verify condition.

Step 3: Order and Parallelism

1. Draw the dependency graph — what blocks what?
2. Identify tasks that can be done in parallel.
3. Sequence tasks so integration happens incrementally (not as one big bang at the end).

Verify: The dependency order is clear. No unnecessary sequential dependencies.

Step 4: Estimate and Adjust

1. For each task, estimate: best case / worst case / expected.
2. If any task's worst case > 1 day: decompose further.
3. Total estimate sanity check: does it add up to a reasonable timeline?

Common Rationalizations (and Rebuttals)

| Excuse | Rebuttal | |--------|----------| | "I'll figure it out as I go" | Decomposition takes 30 minutes. Rework from poor planning takes days. | | "It's too complex to break down" | Everything can be decomposed. Start with what you know, decompose the rest later. | | "The tasks are too granular" | Granular tasks ship continuously. Coarse tasks ship never. |

Verification

• [ ] Each task is under 4 hours
• [ ] Each task has a single verify condition
• [ ] Dependencies mapped — no circular dependencies
• [ ] Parallel work identified

References

• [goal-driven-execution skill](../goal-driven-execution/SKILL.md)
• [multi-agent-orchestration skill](../multi-agent-orchestration/SKILL.md)