officebeats Epic Breakdown Advisor
This suite helps you manage the entire lifecycle of an Epic from Hypothesis framing to Technical Task decomposition.
Phase 1: Epic Hypothesis Framing
Use this when defining a major initiative before roadmap, discovery, or delivery planning.
If/Then Hypothesis Structure:
- If we [action or solution on behalf of target persona]
- for [target persona]
- Then we will [attain or achieve a desirable outcome or job-to-be-done]
Validation Measures:
- We know our hypothesis is valid if within [timeframe]
- we observe: [Quantitative / Qualitative measurable outcome]
Phase 2: Epic Splitting (Humanizing Work)
Break down epics into user stories using Richard Lawrence's complete Humanizing Work methodology—a systematic, flowchart-driven approach that applies 9 splitting patterns sequentially.
Pre-Split Validation: Verify INVEST criteria: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Testable.
The 9 Splitting Patterns (In Order)
- Workflow Steps — Thin end-to-end slices, not step-by-step
- Operations (CRUD) — Create, Read, Update, Delete as separate stories
- Business Rule Variations — Different rules = different stories
- Data Variations — Different data types/structures
- Data Entry Methods — Simple UI first, fancy UI later
- Major Effort — "Implement one + add remaining"
- Simple/Complex — Core simplest version first, variations later
- Defer Performance — "Make it work" before "make it fast"
- Break Out a Spike — Time-box investigation when uncertainty blocks splitting
Phase 3: Feature to Task Decomposition
Use this skill to decompose a feature into small, testable technical tasks with explicit dependencies and acceptance criteria.
Workflow:
- Understand the full feature requirements
- Identify the main components needed
- Break into independent, testable tasks
- Identify dependencies between tasks
- Order tasks by dependency and priority
- Add acceptance criteria to each task
- Flag any unknowns or risks
Example Task:
### Task 1: Database schema
- Add users table with email, password_hash, created_at
- Add sessions table with user_id, token, expires_at
- Acceptance: Migrations run successfully