task-breakdown
Task Breakdown
Break big work into small, shippable pieces. If a task takes more than 3 days, it's not broken down enough.
Context
Task breakdown turns architecture and specs into actionable work items. It is the critical bridge between "what to build" and "how to build it incrementally." Good breakdown enables parallelism, reduces risk, and provides clear progress signals.
In a lifecycle-aware system, task breakdown must preserve upstream boundaries. Do not turn unresolved architecture questions into implementation commitments. Do not decompose a brownfield modernization as if it were a clean-slate rewrite.
Inputs
- architecture-doc -- Required. Provides component boundaries, seam decisions, and coexistence constraints.
- api-contract -- Optional but strongly preferred when implementation work includes API-facing changes or compatibility surfaces.
- spec-doc -- Optional amplifying input for spec-driven or waterfall paths.
Process
Step 1: Identify Work Packages
More from yknothing/prodcraft
system-design
Use when reviewed requirements or specifications are ready and the team must decide high-level architecture, component boundaries, integration seams, or brownfield coexistence strategy before API design, technology selection, or task planning.
6ci-cd
Use when a reviewed implementation slice needs an automated build, test, and deployment pipeline, especially when brownfield rollback, release-boundary checks, contract/integration gates, and staged delivery must be explicit before shipping.
6intake
The mandatory gateway for all new engineering work. Triage and route new products, apps, features, migrations, tech-debt, or any 'not sure where to start' request to the correct lifecycle path. Use before starting design or implementation. Do not use for ongoing tasks, specific debugging, or PR reviews.
6feature-development
Use when a reviewed task slice has tests or acceptance targets and the team must turn it into a small, mergeable implementation increment without expanding scope, breaking contracts, or hiding release-boundary risk.
6monitoring-observability
Use when a live service or newly delivered release needs actionable telemetry, dashboards, and alerts that expose real user-impactful boundaries, especially when brownfield coexistence rules, unsupported-flow safety, rollback health, or queue/backfill behavior must be visible before incidents escalate.
6incident-response
Use when a live production issue needs coordinated containment, severity triage, stakeholder communication, and evidence capture, especially when a recent release, brownfield coexistence rules, rollback decisions, or unresolved contract boundaries must be handled before root-cause work.
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