Task Decomposition

Break down complex tasks into atomic, actionable goals with clear dependencies.

When to Use

• Complex user requests with multiple components

• Multi-phase projects requiring coordination

• Tasks that could benefit from parallel execution

• Planning agent coordination strategies

Decomposition Framework

1. Requirements Analysis

• Primary objective

• Implicit requirements (quality, performance)

• Constraints (time, resources)

• Success criteria

2. Goal Hierarchy

Main Goal ├─ Sub-goal 1 │ ├─ Task 1.1 (atomic) │ └─ Task 1.2 (atomic) ├─ Sub-goal 2 └─ Sub-goal 3

3. Dependency Types

Type Symbol Example

Sequential A → B → C B needs A's output

Parallel A─┐ B─┐ C─┘ Independent, concurrent

Converging A─┐ B─┼─> D D needs A, B, C

Resource A, B Sequential or pooled

4. Success Criteria

For each task:

• Input: What data/state is needed

• Output: What artifacts will be produced

• Quality: Performance, testing, docs requirements

Decomposition Patterns

Pattern Use Case

Layer-Based Architectural changes (data, logic, API, test, docs)

Feature-Based New features (MVP, error handling, optimization, integration)

Phase-Based Large projects (research, foundation, core, integration, polish)

Problem-Solution Debugging (reproduce, diagnose, design, fix, verify, prevent)

Quality Checklist

✓ Atomic and actionable ✓ Dependencies clearly identified ✓ Success criteria measurable ✓ No task too large (>4 hours) ✓ Parallelization opportunities identified

✗ Tasks too large or vague ✗ Missing dependencies ✗ Unclear success criteria ✗ Missing quality/testing tasks

Integration with GOAP

Task decomposition is Phase 1 of GOAP:

• Receive request

• Apply decomposition

• Create execution plan

• Execute with monitoring

• Report results