Task Decomposition

Task Decomposition

Overview

Task decomposition breaks complex tasks into manageable, well-defined subtasks with clear dependencies, effort estimates, and parallelization opportunities. It covers hierarchical work breakdown structures (WBS), dependency graph construction, critical path analysis, task sizing, and identification of concurrent execution opportunities. Essential for planning multi-step implementations, project estimation, and autonomous loop task selection.

Announce at start: "I'm using the task-decomposition skill to break this work into a structured hierarchy with dependencies and estimates."

Trigger Conditions

• Complex task needs to be broken into subtasks
• Dependency mapping is needed between work items
• Effort estimation is required for planning
• Parallelization opportunities need to be identified
• /decompose command invoked
• Transition from planning skill for complex plans
• Autonomous loop needs task selection guidance

Phase 1: Scope Definition

Goal: Define clear boundaries for the decomposition.

1. Define the overall deliverable and acceptance criteria
2. Identify the boundaries (what is in scope, what is not)
3. Determine the decomposition granularity level
4. Identify stakeholders and their requirements
5. Establish constraints (time, resources, dependencies)

Granularity Decision Table

Granularity Levels

STOP — Do NOT proceed to Phase 2 until:

• Deliverable and acceptance criteria are defined
• Scope boundaries are clear (in/out)
• Target granularity level is chosen
• Constraints are identified

Phase 2: Hierarchical Breakdown

Goal: Decompose the work into a tree structure meeting the INVEST criteria.

1. Identify top-level work streams (epics or major components)
2. Break each work stream into features or milestones
3. Decompose features into implementable tasks
4. Apply the "2-hour rule" — no task should exceed 2 hours of focused work
5. Ensure each task has a clear definition of done
6. Verify MECE (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive) coverage

The INVEST Criteria for Tasks

MECE Verification

STOP — Do NOT proceed to Phase 3 until:

• All work streams are identified
• Tasks meet INVEST criteria
• MECE coverage is verified
• No task exceeds 2 hours

Phase 3: Dependency Mapping

Goal: Build a directed acyclic graph (DAG) of task dependencies.

1. Identify input/output dependencies between tasks
2. Classify dependency types
3. Build a directed acyclic graph (DAG)
4. Identify the critical path (longest dependency chain)
5. Flag circular dependencies as errors to resolve
6. Mark external dependencies (API access, approvals, third-party)

Dependency Types

Dependency Notation Format

Task 1: Set up database schema
Task 2: Create data access layer         [depends: 1]
Task 3: Implement API endpoints          [depends: 2]
Task 4: Write unit tests for DAL         [depends: 2]
Task 5: Write API integration tests      [depends: 3, 4]
Task 6: Create frontend components       [depends: none]
Task 7: Connect frontend to API          [depends: 3, 6]
Task 8: End-to-end testing               [depends: 5, 7]

Parallel tracks:
  Track A: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 5 -> 8
  Track B: 1 -> 2 -> 4 -> 5 -> 8
  Track C: 6 -> 7 -> 8
  Critical path: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 7 -> 8

Circular Dependency Resolution

STOP — Do NOT proceed to Phase 4 until:

• All dependencies are mapped
• No circular dependencies exist
• Critical path is identified
• External dependencies are flagged

Phase 4: Parallelization Planning

Goal: Identify independent task clusters that can run concurrently.

1. Identify independent task clusters (no dependencies between them)
2. Group tasks by resource type (read, write, build, test)
3. Determine maximum parallelism based on resource constraints
4. Sequence tasks within each parallel track
5. Plan synchronization points (merge gates)

Resource-Based Parallelism Limits

Parallelization Pattern Decision Table

Synchronization Points

  +------+     +------+     +------+
  |Task A|     |Task B|     |Task C|
  +--+---+     +--+---+     +--+---+
     |            |            |
     v            v            v
  ======================================
     SYNC GATE: All Complete
     Verify: no conflicts, tests pass
  ======================================
                 |
                 v
          +----------+
          |Next Phase|
          +----------+

STOP — Do NOT proceed to Phase 5 until:

• Independent clusters are identified
• Resource constraints are considered
• Synchronization points are defined
• Maximum parallelism is determined

Phase 5: Estimation and Prioritization

Goal: Estimate effort for each task and create an execution timeline.

T-Shirt Sizing to Hours

Estimation Heuristics

Three-Point Estimation

Expected = (Optimistic + 4 * Most Likely + Pessimistic) / 6

Example:
  Optimistic:  2 hours (everything goes smoothly)
  Most Likely: 4 hours (normal development pace)
  Pessimistic: 10 hours (major unexpected issues)
  Expected:    (2 + 16 + 10) / 6 = 4.7 hours

Prioritization Decision Table

Work Breakdown Structure Template

# WBS: [Project Name]

## 1. [Work Stream A]
### 1.1 [Feature]
- [ ] 1.1.1 [Task] — Est: 2h — Deps: none — Priority: P0
- [ ] 1.1.2 [Task] — Est: 1h — Deps: 1.1.1 — Priority: P0
- [ ] 1.1.3 [Task] — Est: 3h — Deps: 1.1.1 — Priority: P1

### 1.2 [Feature]
- [ ] 1.2.1 [Task] — Est: 1h — Deps: none — Priority: P0
- [ ] 1.2.2 [Task] — Est: 2h — Deps: 1.2.1, 1.1.2 — Priority: P1

## 2. [Work Stream B]
### 2.1 [Feature]
- [ ] 2.1.1 [Task] — Est: 1h — Deps: none — Priority: P0
- [ ] 2.1.2 [Task] — Est: 4h — Deps: 2.1.1 — Priority: P0

## Summary
- Total tasks: N
- Estimated total effort: Xh
- Critical path duration: Yh
- Max parallelism: Z tracks
- External dependencies: [list]

Critical Path Analysis

How to Find the Critical Path

1. List all tasks with durations and dependencies
2. Forward pass: calculate earliest start (ES) and earliest finish (EF)
3. Backward pass: calculate latest start (LS) and latest finish (LF)
4. Float = LS - ES (tasks with zero float are on the critical path)
5. The critical path is the longest chain through the dependency graph

Optimization Strategies

Anti-Patterns / Common Mistakes

Anti-Rationalization Guards

If you catch yourself thinking:

• "I can estimate the whole thing without breaking it down..." — No. Decompose first.
• "Dependencies are obvious, I don't need to map them..." — Map them. Hidden dependencies cause failures.
• "This task is fine at 8 hours..." — Decompose it. XL tasks must be broken down.
• "The critical path doesn't matter for small projects..." — It does. It tells you what to prioritize.

Subagent Dispatch Opportunities

Mark each decomposed task with a parallelizable: yes/no flag in the output table. Follow the dispatching-parallel-agents skill protocol when dispatching.

Integration Points

Concrete Examples

Example: Decomposition of "Add User Authentication"

# WBS: User Authentication

## 1. Core Auth
### 1.1 Token Management
- [ ] 1.1.1 Implement JWT generation — Est: 1h — Deps: none — P0
- [ ] 1.1.2 Implement JWT validation — Est: 1h — Deps: 1.1.1 — P0
- [ ] 1.1.3 Implement refresh token rotation — Est: 2h — Deps: 1.1.2 — P1

### 1.2 Auth Middleware
- [ ] 1.2.1 Create auth middleware — Est: 1h — Deps: 1.1.2 — P0
- [ ] 1.2.2 Add role-based access control — Est: 2h — Deps: 1.2.1 — P1

## 2. Auth Endpoints
### 2.1 Registration
- [ ] 2.1.1 POST /auth/register endpoint — Est: 1h — Deps: 1.1.1 — P0
- [ ] 2.1.2 Email validation — Est: 30m — Deps: none — P0

### 2.2 Login
- [ ] 2.2.1 POST /auth/login endpoint — Est: 1h — Deps: 1.1.1, 1.2.1 — P0
- [ ] 2.2.2 POST /auth/refresh endpoint — Est: 1h — Deps: 1.1.3 — P1

## Summary
- Total tasks: 8
- Estimated total effort: 10.5h
- Critical path: 1.1.1 -> 1.1.2 -> 1.2.1 -> 2.2.1 (4h)
- Max parallelism: 3 tracks (Token, Middleware, Endpoints)
- External dependencies: none

Skill Type

RIGID — Follow the decomposition phases in order. Every task must meet the INVEST criteria and have explicit dependencies, estimates, and acceptance criteria. The dependency graph and critical path analysis are mandatory for multi-day work.