lteawoo Task Breakdown
Purpose
Break a large or ambiguous task into executable units and define the recommended order.
Core Principles
- Each task should be small enough to understand and complete in one pass.
- Every task needs a completion criterion.
- Make prerequisites and parallelism explicit.
- Separate documentation, implementation, and validation work.
- Split large work based on user value and testability, not just feature boundaries.
- Mark uncertainty explicitly instead of hiding it behind estimates.
Inputs
- Requirements or draft architecture
- Current codebase state
- Deadlines or priority information, if available
- Technical decisions that are already fixed
- Test or deployment constraints
Workflow
- Summarize the overall goal in one line.
- Split the scope into functional units.
- Divide each unit into design, implementation, and validation work.
- Identify prerequisites and dependencies.
- Separate parallelizable work from sequential work.
- Attach deliverables and completion criteria to each task.
Output Format
Task Goal
- Outcome that must be completed in this effort
Task List
- Task name
- Purpose
- Prerequisites
- Deliverables
- Completion criteria
Recommended Order
- Work to do first
- Work to do next
- Work that can run in parallel
Validation Points
- How to verify each task
- Needed tests or manual checks
Risks
- Schedule risk
- Dependency risk
- Work items that need further breakdown
When Information Is Missing
- If priorities are unclear, sort by the flow with the highest user value first.
- If the scope is too large, separate a first-pass breakdown from areas that need deeper decomposition.
- If investigation is required before implementation, represent it as separate work.