Task Decomposition

Task Decomposition Skill

Purpose

Break down complex tasks into actionable, atomic steps that can be executed by individual agents.

When to Use

• Receiving complex multi-step requests
• Planning new feature implementation
• Organizing large refactoring efforts
• Coordinating multi-agent workflows

Decomposition Framework

Step 1: Identify the Goal

goal_analysis:
  end_state: "What does success look like?"
  constraints:
    - Time/resource limitations
    - Technical requirements
    - Dependencies on external systems
  success_criteria:
    - Measurable outcomes
    - Acceptance conditions

Step 2: Break Down by Layer

Vertical Decomposition (by feature)

Feature Request
├── Component A
│   ├── Task A1
│   └── Task A2
├── Component B
│   ├── Task B1
│   └── Task B2
└── Component C
    └── Task C1

Horizontal Decomposition (by phase)

1. Research Phase
   ├── Understand requirements
   └── Analyze existing code

2. Design Phase
   ├── Define interfaces
   └── Plan architecture

3. Implementation Phase
   ├── Build core functionality
   └── Add edge case handling

4. Validation Phase
   ├── Write tests
   └── Review code

Step 3: Ensure Atomicity

Each task should be:

• Single responsibility - Does one thing
• Completable - Has clear done criteria
• Assignable - Can be done by one agent
• Verifiable - Result can be checked

Bad (too vague):

- "Improve the API"
- "Make it faster"
- "Fix the bugs"

Good (atomic):

- "Add rate limiting to /api/users endpoint"
- "Add index to users.email column"
- "Fix null pointer in UserService.getUser()"

Step 4: Map Dependencies

dependencies:
  T1: []                    # Can start immediately
  T2: []                    # Can start immediately
  T3: [T1]                  # Needs T1
  T4: [T1, T2]              # Needs both T1 and T2
  T5: [T3, T4]              # Needs T3 and T4

critical_path: [T1, T3, T5]  # Longest dependency chain
parallel_groups:
  - [T1, T2]                 # Can run together
  - [T3, T4]                 # Can run after first group

Step 5: Assign to Agents

Complexity Estimation

Factors

• Number of files affected
• New vs. modifying existing code
• External dependencies
• Testing requirements
• Documentation needs

Complexity Levels

Templates

Feature Implementation

tasks:
  - id: research
    description: "Research existing implementation and requirements"
    agent: researcher

  - id: design
    description: "Design solution architecture"
    agent: planner
    depends_on: [research]

  - id: implement
    description: "Implement the feature"
    agent: coder
    depends_on: [design]

  - id: test
    description: "Write and run tests"
    agent: tester
    depends_on: [implement]

  - id: review
    description: "Code review"
    agent: reviewer
    depends_on: [test]

  - id: document
    description: "Update documentation"
    agent: writer
    depends_on: [implement]

Bug Fix

tasks:
  - id: reproduce
    description: "Reproduce and understand the bug"
    agent: coder

  - id: fix
    description: "Implement the fix"
    agent: coder
    depends_on: [reproduce]

  - id: test
    description: "Add regression test"
    agent: tester
    depends_on: [fix]

  - id: review
    description: "Review fix"
    agent: reviewer
    depends_on: [test]

Infrastructure Setup

tasks:
  - id: requirements
    description: "Document infrastructure requirements"
    agent: devops

  - id: provision
    description: "Create infrastructure resources"
    agent: devops
    depends_on: [requirements]

  - id: configure
    description: "Configure services"
    agent: devops
    depends_on: [provision]

  - id: validate
    description: "Validate setup works"
    agent: tester
    depends_on: [configure]

  - id: document
    description: "Document infrastructure"
    agent: writer
    depends_on: [configure]

Anti-Patterns

Over-Decomposition

Breaking tasks too small creates coordination overhead.

• Bad: "Open file" → "Read line 1" → "Read line 2"...
• Good: "Parse configuration file"

Under-Decomposition

Tasks too large hide complexity and block parallelization.

• Bad: "Build the entire feature"
• Good: Break into research, design, implement, test, document

Missing Dependencies

Forgetting dependencies causes failures mid-execution.

• Always ask: "What must exist before this can start?"

Circular Dependencies

A depends on B
B depends on C
C depends on A  ← Problem!

Solution: Identify shared component, extract as separate task

Checklist

Before finalizing decomposition:

• [ ] Each task has clear done criteria
• [ ] Dependencies are explicitly mapped
• [ ] No circular dependencies exist
• [ ] Parallel opportunities identified
• [ ] Appropriate agents assigned
• [ ] Complexity realistically estimated
• [ ] Validation/review tasks included