nicsuzor/decision-extract

Decision Extract Skill

Taxonomy note: This skill provides domain expertise (HOW) for extracting pending decisions from the task queue. See [[TAXONOMY.md]] for the skill/workflow distinction.

Extract pending decisions from your task queue and format them for batch processing in your daily note.

What is a Decision?

A decision is a task that:

• Requires your input/approval but NOT substantive work
• Is blocking other tasks from proceeding
• Can typically be resolved in <5 minutes

Examples:

• RSVP yes/no, approve/reject, go/no-go, choose A vs B
• Tasks waiting on external input (you can report progress, follow up, or cancel)

Not decisions: Write code, research topic, draft document, fix bug

Note on external dependencies: Tasks waiting for others (e.g., "waiting for Ella's examples") are included because you can still make decisions about them:

• Report progress: "No update yet" / "Received, proceeding"
• Follow up: "Sending reminder"
• Cancel: "No longer needed"

When to Use

• Run /decision-extract when you want to batch-process pending decisions
• The /daily skill includes a decision count summary automatically
• Use when feeling overwhelmed by scattered approval requests

Extraction Logic

Step 1: Query Decision Tasks

Query tasks that are waiting for your input:

# Get waiting tasks assigned to user
waiting_tasks = mcp__pkb__list_tasks(
    status="waiting",
    assignee="nic",
    limit=50
)

# Get review tasks assigned to user
review_tasks = mcp__pkb__list_tasks(
    status="review",
    assignee="nic",
    limit=50
)

Step 2: Filter Non-Decision Types

Exclude high-level planning items that aren't actionable decisions:

EXCLUDED_TYPES = ["project", "epic", "goal"]

decisions = [
    task for task in (waiting_tasks + review_tasks)
    if task.type not in EXCLUDED_TYPES
]

Step 3: Get Blocking Counts

For each decision, determine how many tasks it's blocking:

topology = mcp__pkb__get_task_network()

# Match decision IDs to topology entries to get blocking_count
for decision in decisions:
    entry = find_in_topology(decision.id, topology)
    decision.blocking_count = entry.blocking_count if entry else 0

Step 4: Prioritize

Sort decisions by:

1. blocking_count (descending) - decisions blocking most work first
2. priority (ascending) - P0 before P1 before P2
3. created (ascending) - older decisions first

decisions.sort(key=lambda d: (-d.blocking_count, d.priority, d.created))

Step 5: Classify Priority Tiers

high_priority = [d for d in decisions if d.blocking_count >= 2]
medium_priority = [d for d in decisions if d.blocking_count == 1]
low_priority = [d for d in decisions if d.blocking_count == 0]

Output Format

Generate markdown for the daily note's ## Pending Decisions section:

## Pending Decisions

You have **{total}** decisions pending ({high} high priority).

### High Priority (Blocking Multiple Tasks)

#### D001: {task_title}

- **Task**: `{task_id}`
- **Blocks**: {blocking_count} tasks
- **Context**: {first 200 chars of task body}
- **Created**: {days_ago} days ago

**Decision**: [ ] Approve [ ] Reject [ ] Defer
**Notes**: _________________

---

### Medium Priority (Blocking 1 Task)

#### D002: {task_title}

...

### Low Priority (No Dependencies)

#### D003: {task_title}

...

---

**Instructions**: Mark your decisions above, then run `/decision-apply` to process them.

<!-- decision-metadata
decisions:
  - id: D001
    task_id: {task_id}
    decision: null
    processed: false
  - id: D002
    ...
-->

Integration with Daily Note

Location in Daily Note

Insert the ## Pending Decisions section immediately after ## Focus:

## Focus

[existing focus content]

## Pending Decisions

[generated decision content]

## Task Tree

[existing tree]

Updating Existing Section

If ## Pending Decisions already exists in the daily note:

1. Read existing decisions and their annotations
2. Preserve any user annotations (non-null decisions)
3. Add new decisions not already present
4. Remove decisions that are no longer in waiting/review status

Use Edit tool to update, not Write (preserve surrounding content).

Decision Count for /daily

When /daily runs, include a summary in the Focus section:

## Focus

[priority dashboard]

**Pending Decisions**: {count} ({high_priority} blocking other work)
→ Run `/decision-extract` to review and process

[rest of focus content]

This summary uses the same query logic (Steps 1-3) but only outputs the count, not the full list.

Error Handling

| Scenario | Behavior | | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | No decisions found | Output "No pending decisions. Your queue is clear." | | Daily note missing | Create minimal daily note with decisions section | | Task details unavailable | Include task ID and title only, note "details unavailable" |

Example Output

## Pending Decisions

You have **4** decisions pending (2 high priority).

### High Priority (Blocking Multiple Tasks)

#### D001: Approve authentication provider choice

- **Task**: `aops-abc123`
- **Blocks**: 3 tasks (login-ui, session-mgmt, user-tests)
- **Context**: Options are Auth0 vs Cognito. See comparison doc for trade-offs.
- **Created**: 5 days ago

**Decision**: [ ] Auth0 [ ] Cognito [ ] Need more info
**Notes**: _________________

---

#### D002: Sign off on API schema v2

- **Task**: `aops-def456`
- **Blocks**: 2 tasks
- **Context**: Breaking changes from v1. Migration path documented.
- **Created**: 3 days ago

**Decision**: [ ] Approve [ ] Request changes [ ] Defer
**Notes**: _________________

---

### Low Priority (No Dependencies)

#### D003: Review PR #789 - typo fix

- **Task**: `aops-ghi789`
- **Blocks**: 0 tasks
- **Context**: Single character typo in README
- **Created**: 1 day ago

**Decision**: [ ] Approve [ ] Skip
**Notes**: _________________

---

**Instructions**: Mark your decisions above, then run `/decision-apply` to process them.

Related Skills

• /decision-apply - Process annotated decisions and update tasks
• /daily - Includes decision count in morning briefing
• /pull - Pull next task to work on (after decisions are cleared)