| name | nd-task-decomposition |
| description | Turn a vague, oversized, dependency-heavy, or initiation-resistant outcome into independently verifiable units with a visible first action and observable definition of done. Use when the user cannot identify where to begin, hidden dependencies block action, or a complex request needs execution structure after planning is accepted. |
Task Decomposition
Decompose around execution and evidence boundaries, not arbitrary checklist length.
Procedure
- Define the observable outcome and the end-to-end evidence that proves it.
- Record the target, required inclusions, negative constraints, dependencies, approvals, and irreversible steps.
- Split the work into independently verifiable units.
- Order units by dependency and feedback speed.
- Choose the smallest reversible first action that produces new information.
- Expose only Now, Next, and Later unless the user requests the full plan.
- Re-plan from evidence when a unit fails. Do not repeat the same attempt unchanged.
- Reconcile every unit and constraint before a terminal claim. A completed unit, build, or lower-layer test proves only itself.
Check the task for:
- initiation: the first action is unclear or costly
- working memory: important state exists only in conversation
- sustained attention: a unit runs too long without feedback
- planning and priority: dependency or value order is unclear
- time management: no duration range, checkpoint, or stop condition exists
- flexibility: the plan has no failure route
- metacognition: done cannot be observed
Modify the task or environment before demanding more effort.
Output Shape
Outcome: ...
Now: one concrete action
Next: one dependent action
Later: deferred work
Done when: executable evidence
Source Basis
Synthesize Dawson and Guare's executive-skills taxonomy and intervention sequence: assess fit, modify the environment or task, teach or support the needed skill, externalize steps, review evidence, and fade scaffolding when it is no longer useful.
