Tasks

Skill: tasks

Task-breakdown generator: atomic tasks ≤1 day, each a separately reviewable change (≤~500 LOC preferred), with a visible dependency graph and a Definition of Done per task. One task = one focused session = one PR. "Build the feature" is not a task — break it down.

Task files link to upstream artifacts (spec.md §AC-N, sad.md §6, data-model.md, contracts/openapi.yaml, adr/NNNN-*.md) — they do not duplicate them. Alongside the human-facing markdown, this skill emits tasks.json, the contract the implement engine reads to build its dependency DAG.

Owner

Tech Lead.

Inputs

• `` — feature slug.
• Gate (hard refuse): docs/features//spec.md + docs/features//sad.md + ≥1 Accepted ADR in adr/. Missing → STOP and point at the producing skill (specify / design / decide-adr).
• Read directly (not via an index): spec §5 AC + §6 NFR, sad §5 module boundaries + §6 runtime + §9 ADR index, each Accepted ADR, and — if present — data-model.md and contracts/openapi.yaml.
• (Expected) sad.md frontmatter target_surfaces — gates which layers appear (step 4). Absent or empty → warn («surfaces undeclared — re-run design, or proceeding as backend-service») and treat as [backend-service] (→ [../_shared/surfaces.md](../_shared/surfaces.md)); never silently emit ui tasks for an undeclared surface.

Protocol

1. Prereq check (hard). spec.md + sad.md + ≥1 Accepted ADR, else refuse with the missing one named.
2. Read upstream directly. Each task will link back to the section it derives from — no paraphrase layer.
3. Scaffold output. docs/features//tasks/: _epic.md (summary + links + the DAG flowchart), tracker.md (status table), one .md per task. Templates → [./templates/_epic.md](./templates/epic.md), [./templates/tracker.md](./templates/tracker.md), [./templates/task.md](./templates/task.md). Validate the _epic.md flowchart per [../_shared/mermaid-check.md](../shared/mermaid-check.md) (render-parse with mmdc if available, else the structural lint; fix before committing).
4. Identify work-items by layer. Generic, stack-agnostic layers: migration (DB) · domain (entities/invariants) · infra (repo/persistence) · app (service/use-case) · ports (handler/API) · ui (UI components / screens / view-state — only when a UI surface is declared) · tests · wiring (composition/DI) · docs. sad.md frontmatter target_surfaces gates which layers appear (→ [../_shared/surfaces.md](../shared/surfaces.md)): a web-frontend / mobile-app / desktop-app surface adds ui tasks; a backend-only feature emits domain/infra/app/ports (no ui); a cli feature app/ports; a worker domain/infra. Each ui task names the existing components / tokens / styling it reuses (from architecture-map.md §Frontend) — a new component is listed only when no existing primitive fits. List 8–20 items by size (see [../_shared/size-matrix.md](../shared/size-matrix.md)).
5. Atomic check. Each task ≤1 working day. More → split. A change >~500 LOC is a smell that the task is too wide.
6. Dependency graph. For each task, deps: [...]. Identify parallel branches (e.g. the migration and a pure-domain task can start together). This graph IS the DAG implement will topologically sort into phases.
7. Per-task DoD. Each task is testable: «unit tests for the new validation pass», «migration applies and reverts cleanly», «handler returns the spec'd outcome for AC-03». No subjective «done when I say so».
8. AC refs + files hint. Each task lists the acs it satisfies (spec §5 IDs) and a files_hint — the directories/files it will touch. files_hint lets implement serialize tasks whose file sets overlap, and layer: migration is always serialized (ordered migration sequence); layer: ui is not auto-serialized — UI tasks parallelize unless their files_hint overlaps. A migration task's files_hint is the staged pair docs/features//migrations/_* (which implement promotes into the live migrations/ when it runs the task) — not a live migrations/ path.
9. Estimate + owner. S/M/L or hours; a named owner (or ``). Adapt to the team's sizing if any.
10. Emit tasks.json (step contract below) — the same model the markdown reflects, in machine form, at docs/features//tasks.json.
11. Optional tracker export. If an issue-tracker MCP is connected (Jira / Linear / GitHub Issues / Redmine — whichever the repo uses), offer to create tickets from _epic.md + the task files. Otherwise provide copy-paste-ready bodies. Never hard-bind to one tracker.
12. Self-check. Every task ≤1 day; DAG acyclic with ≥1 parallel branch where the work allows; DoD per task; acs cover every spec §5 AC; tasks.json validates against the contract.
13. Propose commit + handoff. tasks: (breakdown + tasks.json). Then emit the stage-handoff block per [../_shared/handoff.md](../_shared/handoff.md) — What I did + Review (tasks/, tasks.json) + Run next (/clear, then /sdd:plan-tests , then /sdd:implement ).

tasks.json contract (read by implement)

{
  "slug": "",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "id": "T1",
      "title": "imperative, specific",
      "layer": "migration|domain|infra|app|ports|ui|tests|wiring|docs",
      "deps": ["T0"],
      "acs": ["AC-01", "AC-02"],
      "dod": "one testable sentence",
      "files_hint": ["path/or/dir/the/task/touches"]
    }
  ]
}

• The markdown task files and tasks.json use the same field names (deps, acs) — this skill emits both from one model, so there's no translation layer to drift.
• deps must form a DAG (no cycles) and reference only ids present in the file.
• layer: migration tasks are serialized by implement (ordered migration sequence); layer: ui is not auto-serialized (UI tasks parallelize); tasks with overlapping files_hint are serialized into the same lane regardless of layer.
• Which layers are present is gated by sad.md frontmatter target_surfaces (a UI surface adds ui; a backend-only feature has none) → [../_shared/surfaces.md](../_shared/surfaces.md).

Definition of Done

• tasks/_epic.md + tasks/tracker.md + one tasks/.md per task exist, linking (not duplicating) upstream.
• tasks.json exists and validates: acyclic deps, every acs entry is a real spec §5 AC, every task has a dod and a files_hint.
• Every task ≤1 day with an owner; the DAG shows ≥1 parallel branch where the work allows.
• Every spec §5 AC is covered by ≥1 task's acs.

Anti-patterns

• «Build the feature» as one task. Break into ≥8 atomic ones.
• 5-day monster tasks → unreviewable. Split.
• No dependencies → parallel starts that block each other the next day.
• No per-task DoD → «done when I decide».
• No owner → nobody starts, or everyone assumes the other will.
• Hard-binding to one tracker (Jira-only language). Export is optional and tool-neutral.
• Task body duplicates spec AC / sad §6 / data-model verbatim — link, don't paste.
• tasks.json out of sync with the markdown — they must reflect the same model.
• A task that violates a Hard Rule from spec §6 / sad §11 (e.g. «edit another module» when the architecture forbids it).

References & template

• [./templates/_epic.md](./templates/_epic.md) · [./templates/tracker.md](./templates/tracker.md) · [./templates/task.md](./templates/task.md)
• [../_shared/size-matrix.md](../_shared/size-matrix.md) — how many tasks for the feature size.
• [../_shared/surfaces.md](../_shared/surfaces.md) — target_surfaces (read from sad.md) gates which layers appear; a UI surface adds the ui layer (not auto-serialized).

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: genkovich
• Source: genkovich/sdd
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.