Decompose Plan into Tasks

Overview

Parse implementation plan and create one Task tool task per H2 Task header. Tasks reference plan via citation-manager, keeping plan authoritative.

Core principle: Plan is source of truth. Tasks are pointers, not copies.

Announce at start: "I'm using the decompose-plan skill to create tasks from this plan."

When to Use

•Before executing any implementation plan
•When /executing-plans or similar workflow starts
•When plan has ## Task N structure with ### Step sub-headers

The Process

Step 1: Parse Plan Structure

Use citation-manager to extract H2 headers (Tasks):

bash

citation-manager extract header "{plan_path}" "Task 1"

Each ## Task N becomes one Claude Code Task.

Step 2: Create One Task Per H2

For EACH ## Task N header, create a Task tool task:

typescript

TaskCreate({
  subject: "Task {N}: {task_title}",
  description: `Fetch task details:\n\`citation-manager extract header "${plan_path}" "Task {N} - {task_title}"\`\n\nPlan: ${plan_path}`,
  activeForm: "{task_title}"
})

Step 3: Set Dependencies

•Task N+1 blocked by Task N (linear chain)
•If plan specifies non-linear dependencies, follow plan

Task Description Template

markdown

Fetch task details:
`citation-manager extract header "{plan_path}" "Task N - {task_title}"`

Plan: {plan_path}

Why citation directive: Plan may be updated. Task fetches current content at execution time.

Granularity Rules

Level	What to Create	Example
`## Task N`	ONE Task	Unit of work with steps inside
`### Step N`	Part of parent Task	Executed within Task, not split
`#### Sub-step`	Part of parent Step	Don't split further

Common Rationalizations (STOP These)

Excuse	Reality
"I'll split into steps"	Steps execute within their Task. One Task per H2.
"I'll copy content inline"	Copies go stale. Citation directive fetches current content.
"Citation adds overhead"	One command. Guarantees current content. Worth it.
"I need fewer tasks"	One per H2 is the right granularity. Don't merge Tasks.

Red Flags - You're About to Violate

•Creating 22 tasks for a plan with 6 Tasks (too granular)
•Merging multiple ## Task into one task (too coarse)
•Copying task content into descriptions
•Ignoring dependency chain

Example Output

For a plan with 6 Tasks:

text

Task #1: Task 1: Create shared library lib/status-helpers.sh
Task #2: Task 2: Refactor task-status-sync.sh to use library  (blockedBy: #1)
Task #3: Task 3: Refactor stop-sync.sh to use library         (blockedBy: #2)
Task #4: Task 4: Enhance plan-path-sync.sh for multi-plan     (blockedBy: #3)
Task #5: Task 5: Create /set-plan slash command                (blockedBy: #4)
Task #6: Task 6: Verification                                 (blockedBy: #5)

Verification

After decomposition, verify:

bash

# Count tasks created
ls ~/.claude/tasks/{session_id}/*.json | wc -l
# Should match number of H2 Task headers in plan

Quick Reference

Input	Output
Plan with 6 `## Task`	6 tasks
Each task description	Citation directive to plan
Dependencies	Task-to-task chain