Spec Task Management

Spec Task Management

Transform specification documents (PRDs, Technical Specifications, Design Documents) into structured task lists that AI coding agents can execute independently or in parallel.

Core Workflow

1. Document Analysis

Parse the specification document to extract:

• Explicit requirements: Stated features, functionality, acceptance criteria
• Implicit requirements: Technical considerations, infrastructure needs, error handling
• Constraints: Technology choices, performance requirements, compatibility needs
• Scope boundaries: What is and isn't included in the specification

Read the source document thoroughly. Identify section headings, numbered requirements, user stories, acceptance criteria, and technical specifications. Note any cross-references between sections.

2. Task Decomposition

Break requirements into atomic tasks with these characteristics:

Decomposition process:

1. Identify each distinct requirement in the specification
2. Determine if the requirement is atomic or needs splitting
3. Create task entries with unique IDs (TASK-001, TASK-002, etc.)
4. Ensure each task maps to specific specification sections

3. Dependency Mapping

Identify three types of dependencies between tasks:

• Hard dependencies: Task B cannot start until Task A completes
• Soft dependencies: Task B benefits from Task A being complete but can proceed
• Resource dependencies: Tasks share files, modules, or services

Populate dependencies.hard and dependencies.soft arrays. Calculate blocked_by (incomplete hard dependencies) and blocks (tasks depending on this one).

For detailed dependency patterns, consult references/dependency-patterns.md.

4. Priority Calculation

Score and prioritize tasks based on:

1. Dependency depth: Tasks unblocking many others rank higher
2. Complexity: Use T-shirt sizing (XS, S, M, L, XL)
3. Risk level: Higher uncertainty = higher priority (do risky things early)
4. Business value: When indicated in specification

Map to priority levels: critical, high, medium, low.

5. Testing Criteria Generation

For each task, generate:

• Acceptance criteria: Specific conditions that must be true when complete
• Test scenarios: Concrete examples to verify implementation
• Edge cases: Boundary conditions and error scenarios

Derive these from the specification's acceptance criteria, user stories, and technical requirements.

6. Execution Phases

Group tasks into phases based on dependency analysis:

• Phase 1: No hard dependencies (can start immediately)
• Phase 2: Dependencies only on Phase 1 tasks
• Phase N: Dependencies satisfied by previous phases

Calculate phases to enable maximum parallel execution by multiple agents.

7. Context Window Grouping

Organize tasks into context groups that fit within AI coding agent context windows:

Why Context Groups Matter:

• AI coding agents have limited context windows (e.g., 100K tokens)
• Loading too many tasks exhausts context capacity
• Context groups enable efficient agent handoffs between sessions

Grouping Algorithm:

1. Calculate effective limit: max_tokens - reserve_tokens
2. Topologically sort tasks by execution phase
3. Bin-pack tasks respecting:
   • Token limits (complexity-based estimation)
   • Hard dependencies (must be in same or earlier group)
4. Mark first/last tasks with boundary flags

Token Estimation:

Overhead:

• Base per task: 200 tokens
• Per hard dependency: 100 tokens
• Group transition: 500 tokens

Use /task-manager:context-groups to generate groups after analyzing a specification.

Output Format

Generate task lists as JSON following the schema in references/task-schema.json.

Key structure:

{
  "metadata": {
    "source_document": "path/to/spec.md",
    "generated_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "total_tasks": 12,
    "completion_percentage": 0
  },
  "tasks": [...],
  "dependency_graph": { "nodes": [...], "edges": [...] },
  "execution_phases": [...]
}

Storage Convention

Store task files at: tasks/<project-name>.tasks.json

Create the tasks/ directory if it doesn't exist. Use the specification filename (without extension) as the project name, or derive from specification title.

Maintain version history by incrementing metadata.version on updates.

Task Status Management

Track task lifecycle:

When marking a task complete:

1. Update status to "complete"
2. Recalculate blocked_by for all dependent tasks
3. Update completion_percentage in metadata
4. Suggest next best tasks based on updated state

Complexity Estimation

Use T-shirt sizing with these guidelines:

Handling Ambiguity

When specifications are unclear:

1. Note assumptions in the task's notes field
2. Flag ambiguous requirements for human review
3. Create tasks for clarification if significant
4. Document which specification sections need clarification

ID Stability

Maintain stable task IDs across regenerations:

• Base IDs on requirement content, not position
• When updating, match existing tasks by requirement reference
• Only assign new IDs for genuinely new requirements
• Mark removed requirements as "obsolete" rather than deleting

Additional Resources

Reference Files

For detailed patterns and schema, consult:

• references/task-schema.json - Complete JSON schema for task list format
• references/dependency-patterns.md - Detailed dependency identification patterns
• references/context-defaults.json - Default configuration for context grouping

Quick Reference

Analyze command flow:

1. Read specification document
2. Extract requirements and structure
3. Decompose into atomic tasks
4. Map dependencies (hard, soft, resource)
5. Calculate priorities and phases
6. Generate testing criteria
7. Write to tasks/<project-name>.tasks.json

Context grouping flow:

1. Run /task-manager:context-groups on existing task list
2. Algorithm bin-packs tasks into groups respecting token limits
3. Each task gets context_group_id, boundary flags, token estimates
4. context_groups array added to task file with summaries

Agent execution workflow:

1. /task-manager:next-group - Get next group to work on
2. Work through tasks in group, marking complete
3. When group complete, agent resets context
4. New session runs /task-manager:next-group for next group

Next task selection criteria:

1. Status is "not_started"
2. No incomplete hard dependencies (blocked_by is empty)
3. Prefer tasks in active context group
4. Highest priority first
5. Lowest complexity as tiebreaker (quick wins)

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