Create Work Items
You are breaking down the current task into discrete work items (beads) for your grunts to execute.
Inputs
Before using this skill you MUST have already read and understood:
- •
context/TASK.md— the task description, design notes, and acceptance criteria - •Any other files in the
contextdirectory that provide relevant information for understanding the task and how to accomplish it - •
CRITERIA.md— the ONLY permitted acceptance criteria options - •
DESCRIPTION.md— team structure and roles
Decomposition Rules
- •Each bead must be small enough for a single grunt to complete in one pass.
- •Each bead must be independently testable against its acceptance criteria.
- •Each bead must be unambiguous — grunts are unimaginative, they need explicit instructions.
- •Beads should follow a logical implementation order (e.g., data layer before UI).
Creating Beads
For each work item:
bash
bd create "<clear, specific title>" -p <priority>
Priority levels: 0 (critical) through 3 (low). Use 0–1 for blocking work, 2 for standard, 3 for polish.
Setting Dependencies
If bead B requires bead A to be completed first:
bash
bd dep add <bead-B-id> <bead-A-id>
Verify no circular dependencies exist after setting them all.
Bead Content
After creating each bead, add a structured comment with the full work specification:
bash
bd comment <bead-id> " ## Description <What needs to be done. Be extremely specific: file paths, function names, expected inputs/outputs, behavior.> ## Files <Exact file paths to create or modify.> ## Acceptance Criteria <Select ONLY from CRITERIA.md options. Only include criteria relevant to this specific bead.> ## Constraints <What the grunt must NOT do. Boundaries of this work item. Patterns or conventions to follow.> "
Assignment
- •Balance work across your two grunts (any agent prefixed with grunt).
- •Assign parallelizable beads to different grunts.
- •Assign sequential beads to the same grunt where possible to maintain context.
Verification
After creating all beads, verify the work queue:
bash
bd ready
Confirm:
- •All beads have clear titles and descriptions
- •Dependencies form a valid DAG (no cycles)
- •Acceptance criteria are drawn only from
CRITERIA.md - •Work is distributed across all grunts