task-decomposition

name	task-decomposition
description	Turn a vague, oversized, or initiation-resistant outcome into an executable sequence with a visible first action and definition of done. Use when dependencies are hidden, the task spans multiple systems, or the user cannot identify where to begin.

Task Decomposition

Decompose around execution boundaries, not arbitrary checklist length.

Procedure

1. Define the observable outcome and the evidence that proves it.
2. Identify hard constraints, dependencies, approvals, and irreversible steps.
3. Split the work into independently verifiable units.
4. Order units by dependency and feedback speed.
5. Choose the smallest reversible first action that produces new information.
6. Expose only Now, Next, and Later unless the full plan is requested.
7. Re-plan from evidence when a unit fails; do not repeat the same attempt unchanged.

Executive-Skill Check

Use the task itself to find the support need. Check for:

• initiation: first action is unclear or emotionally expensive
• working memory: important state exists only in conversation
• sustained attention: unit is too long to yield feedback
• planning and priority: dependencies or value order are unclear
• time management: duration, checkpoint, or stop condition is absent
• flexibility: the plan has no failure route
• metacognition: done criteria cannot be observed

Modify the environment or task before assuming the user needs more effort.

Output Shape

Outcome: ...
Now: one concrete action
Next: one dependent action
Later: deferred work
Done when: executable evidence

Source Basis

Synthesized from Peg Dawson and Richard Guare's executive-skills taxonomy and intervention pattern: assess fit, modify the environment or task, teach the needed skill, externalize steps, review evidence, and fade scaffolding as it becomes unnecessary.