/task-decomposition

name: task-decomposition
description: Breaks features into atomic, independently verifiable tasks. No task should take more than 4 hours. Unblocks parallel work and reduces integration risk.
category: plan
applies-to: [claude, gemini, cursor, copilot, any]
version: 1.0.0

Overview

Large tasks fail in large ways. Decomposed tasks fail in small, fixable ways. This skill breaks any feature or project into atomic tasks — each independently implementable, testable, and deployable.

When to Use

• Before starting any feature that takes more than half a day
• When a task feels overwhelming or unclear
• When multiple people need to work in parallel

Process

Step 1: Identify the Deliverable

1. State what "done" looks like for the whole feature. 2. List all the things that must be true when it's complete. 3. Identify dependencies: what must exist before any task can start?

**Verify:** You can state the full feature goal in 2 sentences.

Step 2: Decompose Into Atomic Tasks

4. Break the feature into tasks where each task:

• Can be completed in under 4 hours
• Has a single, clear output
• Can be verified independently
• Can be reverted without breaking other tasks

5. Each task should be: `[verb] [noun] so that [outcome]`

• ✅ "Add rate limiting to /api/login so that brute-force is prevented"
• ❌ "Work on the login security stuff"

**Verify:** Every task is under 4 hours. Every task has a clear verify condition.

Step 3: Order and Parallelism

6. Draw the dependency graph — what blocks what? 7. Identify tasks that can be done in parallel. 8. Sequence tasks so integration happens incrementally (not as one big bang at the end).

**Verify:** The dependency order is clear. No unnecessary sequential dependencies.

Step 4: Estimate and Adjust

9. For each task, estimate: best case / worst case / expected. 10. If any task's worst case > 1 day: decompose further. 11. Total estimate sanity check: does it add up to a reasonable timeline?

Common Rationalizations (and Rebuttals)

| Excuse | Rebuttal | |--------|----------| | "I'll figure it out as I go" | Decomposition takes 30 minutes. Rework from poor planning takes days. | | "It's too complex to break down" | Everything can be decomposed. Start with what you know, decompose the rest later. | | "The tasks are too granular" | Granular tasks ship continuously. Coarse tasks ship never. |

Verification

• [ ] Each task is under 4 hours
• [ ] Each task has a single verify condition
• [ ] Dependencies mapped — no circular dependencies
• [ ] Parallel work identified

References

• [goal-driven-execution skill](../goal-driven-execution/SKILL.md)
• [multi-agent-orchestration skill](../multi-agent-orchestration/SKILL.md)