wallacedobbs428/task-planning

Task Planning

Break complex work into clear, ordered, actionable steps.

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Task Decomposition Framework

Step 1: Define the Outcome

Before breaking down tasks, write a single sentence:

"When this is done, [specific measurable outcome]."

Example: "When this is done, cold leads receive a 5-step automated follow-up sequence over 7 days."

Step 2: Identify Components

List every piece needed:

- [ ] Data: What inputs/state files needed?
- [ ] Logic: What decisions/scoring/routing?
- [ ] Integrations: What APIs/services?
- [ ] Output: What gets sent/saved/displayed?
- [ ] Config: What settings/limits?
- [ ] Monitoring: How do we know it's working?

Step 3: Order by Dependencies

[Independent tasks — can be done in parallel]
  ├── Task A (no dependencies)
  ├── Task B (no dependencies)
  └── Task C (no dependencies)

[Dependent tasks — must follow order]
  ├── Task D (depends on A)
  ├── Task E (depends on A + B)
  └── Task F (depends on D + E)

[Final tasks — after everything else]
  ├── Testing
  ├── Documentation
  └── Deployment

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Task Template

## Task: [Name]

**Goal:** [One sentence outcome]
**Priority:** P0/P1/P2/P3
**Estimated effort:** Small (< 2hr) | Medium (2-8hr) | Large (1-3 days)

### Subtasks
- [ ] [Specific actionable step]
- [ ] [Specific actionable step]
- [ ] [Specific actionable step]

### Dependencies
- Requires: [What must be done first]
- Blocks: [What can't start until this is done]

### Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] [Testable condition that proves it works]
- [ ] [Another testable condition]

### Risks
- [What could go wrong and how to mitigate]

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Prioritization Matrix

Eisenhower Matrix for Features

                    URGENT              NOT URGENT
              ┌─────────────────┬─────────────────┐
  IMPORTANT   │   DO FIRST      │   SCHEDULE       │
              │ Revenue-blocking│ Strategic growth  │
              │ Customer-facing │ Technical debt    │
              │ bugs            │ New features      │
              ├─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
  NOT         │   DELEGATE      │   ELIMINATE       │
  IMPORTANT   │ Nice-to-haves   │ Vanity metrics   │
              │ Style tweaks    │ Over-engineering  │
              │ Internal tools  │ Unused features   │
              └─────────────────┴─────────────────┘

ICE Scoring

For each feature, score 1-10:

• Impact: How much will this move the needle?
• Confidence: How sure are we it'll work?
• Ease: How easy is it to implement?

Score = (I + C + E) / 3. Work on highest scores first.

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Sprint Planning Template

## Sprint: [Date Range]

### Sprint Goal
[One sentence: what's the most important outcome this sprint?]

### Committed Work
| Task | Owner | Priority | Estimate | Status |
|------|-------|----------|----------|--------|
| [Task 1] | [Name] | P0 | Small | To Do |
| [Task 2] | [Name] | P1 | Medium | To Do |
| [Task 3] | [Name] | P1 | Small | To Do |

### Stretch Goals (if time permits)
- [ ] [Nice-to-have 1]
- [ ] [Nice-to-have 2]

### Blockers
- [Known blocker and plan to resolve]

### Done Definition
- Code committed and pushed
- Tests pass
- Deployed (or deployment instructions written)
- Documentation updated

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Risk Assessment

For each major task, evaluate:

| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation | |------|-----------|--------|------------| | API rate limiting | High | Medium | Implement backoff, batch requests | | State file corruption | Low | High | Atomic writes, backup on each write | | External service outage | Medium | High | Graceful degradation, retry logic | | Scope creep | High | Medium | Strict acceptance criteria, say no |

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Progress Tracking

Daily Standup Format

**Yesterday:** [What was completed]
**Today:** [What's planned]
**Blockers:** [What's stuck]

Task States

Backlog → To Do → In Progress → In Review → Done
                       ↓
                   Blocked → [Resolve blocker] → In Progress