# Sub Question Decomposition

> Tactic: Decompose a main question into a hierarchy of independently answerable sub-questions

- Skill: `yogsoth-ai/sub-question-decomposition` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add yogsoth-ai/sub-question-decomposition`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/yogsoth-ai/sub-question-decomposition/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: yogsoth-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/yogsoth-ai)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/yogsoth-ai/sub-question-decomposition

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# Sub-Question Decomposition

Decompose a main question into a hierarchy of independently answerable sub-questions — when the question is too complex to answer in one pass.

## Orchestration Intent

Structure "decomposing a complex question" as: generate sub-questions → map dependencies → design answering order. The three steps run sequentially, each step's output being the next step's input.

## Available SOPs

| SOP | Responsibility | When to call |
|-----|------|---------|
| sub-question-generation | Decompose the main question into sub-questions | First step, mandatory |
| dependency-mapping | Map dependency relationships among sub-questions | After sub-questions are generated |
| answering-sequence-design | Design the optimal answering order | After the dependency graph is complete |

## Orchestration Pattern

**Serial mode (the only mode)**:
1. sub-question-generation → sub-question list + independence argument
2. dependency-mapping → dependency graph + critical path
3. answering-sequence-design → execution sequence + parallelization opportunities

Each step strictly depends on the previous step's output; no parallelization.

## Minimum Yield

- ≥3 sub-questions (M tier)
- Each sub-question has an independence argument
- Dependency graph (no circular dependencies)
- Suggested answering sequence + parallelization opportunity identification

## Yield Report

After execution, report:
- Number of sub-questions generated
- Number of dependency relationships
- Critical path length
- Groups of sub-questions that can be answered in parallel

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## Available SOPs

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

| SOP | When to use |
| --- | --- |
| answering-sequence-design | SOP: Design the optimal answering order for sub-questions |
| dependency-mapping | SOP: map dependency relationships among sub-questions |
| sub-question-generation | SOP: Decompose a main research question into independently answerable sub-questions |

<!-- END available-tables (generated) -->