task-decomposition— agent skill

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

1. 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

1. 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

1. Draw the dependency graph — what blocks what?
2. Identify tasks that can be done in parallel.
3. 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

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

Common Rationalizations (and Rebuttals)

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
• multi-agent-orchestration skill