etylsarin/decomposition

Task Decomposition

Dependency Resolution

TaskB → TaskA = B depends on A (must finish first).

Topological sort: No-dep tasks → Phase 1. Tasks depending only on Phase N → Phase N+1. Same-phase tasks with no mutual deps run in parallel.

Cycle detection: If A → B → C → A, split one task into an independent part + a dependent part.

Graph:        Plan:
E → C → A    Phase 1: A, B (parallel)
D → B        Phase 2: C, D (parallel)
F → C, D     Phase 3: E, F (parallel)

Delegation Spec

| Field | Content | |-------|---------| | Tracker | TAS-XX — Title | | Complexity | [score]/13 → [tier] | | Agent | Agent Name | | Objective | 1-3 sentences: what to build/change and why | | Context | Key files, related patterns, prior phase output, relevant lessons | | Constraints | File partition, explicit exclusions, phase dependencies | | Acceptance Criteria | [ ] checklist | | Expected Output | Files changed · Verification · AC status · Discovered issues |

For score 1-3, objective + files + criteria is sufficient. See REFERENCE.md for the full delegation spec template.

Read .opencastle/LESSONS-LEARNED.md before starting. Add a lesson if you retry any approach.

Prompt Quality

| Quality | Example | |---------|---------| | Strong (score 2) | "TAS-42 — Fix token refresh. Users get 'Invalid token' after 30 min. JWT 1h expiry in libs/auth/src/server.ts. Fix refresh logic. Only libs/auth/. Run auth tests." | | Strong (score 8) | Use Delegation Spec Template above (all sections). | | Weak | "Fix the authentication bug." |

Delegation Mechanism

Need result immediately?
 YES → Is dependency for next step?
         YES → Sub-Agent (inline)
         NO  → Sub-Agent or Background (if large)
 NO  → Expected > 5 min?
         YES → Background Agent
         NO  → Sub-Agent (sequential)

Mixed Delegation

| Phase | Mode | Work | |-------|------|------| | 1 | sub-agent | Research — context, patterns, file map | | 2 | background | Foundation — DB migration + scaffolding (parallel) | | 3 | sub-agent | Integration — wire components to data | | 4 | background | Validation — security audit + tests + docs (parallel) | | 5 | sub-agent | QA gate — verify phases, run builds | | 6 | sub-agent | Panel review — load panel-majority-vote skill |

Foundation-First Pattern

Apply when: 2+ pages/views/UI sections · multiple agents produce visual output · no existing design system.

Phase 1: foundation-setup
├── Creates: design tokens, layout, UI component library, style guide brief
└── All visual tasks → depends_on: [foundation-setup]

Phase 2+: page tasks (parallel)
├── Each prompt includes 5 Foundation References
└── Consume tokens — never create new values

Partition rules:

• Foundation owns: src/styles/, src/components/Layout.*, src/components/ui/
• Page tasks own: their page file + page-specific components only
• No page task may list a foundation-owned path in its files[]

Common mistake: Decomposing pages as independent Phase 1 tasks → each agent invents its own design.

Distinctive note (AI delegation): This skill focuses on decomposition that produces machine-actionable delegation prompts: file partitions, explicit acceptance criteria, and machine-friendly constraints (exact paths, line ranges, forbidden files). The output should be ready to paste into a sub-agent prompt without additional human translation.

Load the project-consistency skill for the full Foundation Phase pattern, prompt templates, and anti-patterns.