Breaking Down Work

Transform epics into complete feature/task hierarchies ready for sprint execution.

Usage

/breaking-down-work <item-id> [options]

Arguments

Item ID (required):

• •Epic or large work item to break down (e.g., CCC-123, PROJ-100)

Options:

• •--skip-prep: Skip structure preparation phase
• •--dry-run: Preview breakdown without creating items
• •--max-features N: Limit features created (default: no limit)
• •--analyze-codebase: Enable parallel codebase analysis (default: on)
• •--no-analysis: Skip codebase analysis for faster execution

Examples

# Full breakdown with preparation
/breaking-down-work CCC-123

# Skip preparation (epic already structured)
/breaking-down-work CCC-123 --skip-prep

# Preview without creating items
/breaking-down-work CCC-123 --dry-run

# Quick breakdown without codebase analysis
/breaking-down-work CCC-123 --no-analysis

Workflow

Phase 0: Structure Preparation

Skip if --skip-prep specified

1. •

   Gather Context

   • •Fetch epic via pm-context get_item(id)
   • •Get team/project context
   • •Analyze current epic structure
   • •Find existing child items
2. •

   Completeness Analysis

   • •Parse epic objectives from description
   • •Identify technical components mentioned
   • •Extract success criteria
   • •Map existing feature coverage
3. •

   Gap Identification

   • •Find objectives without matching features
   • •Identify orphan items that belong to this epic
   • •Check for metadata inconsistencies
4. •

   Apply Fixes

   • •Create missing features for coverage gaps
   • •Link high-confidence orphans to epic
   • •Fix metadata inconsistencies (priority, labels)

Phase 1: Readiness Assessment

Validate epic is ready for breakdown:

Readiness Checklist:

• • Has problem statement
• • Has user stories or requirements
• • Has acceptance criteria
• • Has success metrics
• • Has technical requirements
• • Priority is set
• • Scope is clear (no vague terms)

If Not Ready: Report missing elements with specific guidance and exit.

Phase 2: Feature Pre-Planning

1. •

   Identify Work Areas

   • •Extract from epic description
   • •Derive from user stories
   • •Identify technical components
2. •

   Launch Parallel Analysis (unless --no-analysis)

   For each work area, launch analysis agent:

   code

   Read prompts/code-analysis.md for agent prompt template
   

   CRITICAL: Launch ALL agents in a single response for parallelization

3. •

   Collect Results

   • •Technical context per area
   • •Implementation requirements
   • •Suggested features
   • •Complexity estimates
   • •Identified risks

Phase 3: Feature Planning

1. •

   Apply Sizing Guidelines

   Size	Duration	Criteria	Tasks
   Small	1-2 days	3-5 AC, single component	1-3
   Medium	2-3 days	5-8 AC, some integration	3-5
   Large	3-5 days	8-12 AC, subsystem	5-8

   If larger than Large → split into multiple features

2. •

   Generate Feature List

   • •Right-size each suggested feature
   • •Assign to phase (Foundation/Features/Integration)
   • •Identify parallelization opportunities
   • •Create feature specifications using templates/feature.md
3. •

   Generate Tasks per Feature

   • •Max 5 tasks per feature
   • •Each task < 1 day
   • •Include testing task
   • •Use templates/task.md

Phase 4: Create Items

1. •

   Create Features

   code

   For each feature:
     pm-context.create_item({
       type: "feature",
       title: feature.title,
       description: formatted_feature,
       parent: epic_id
     })
   

2. •

   Create Tasks

   code

   For each task:
     pm-context.create_item({
       type: "task",
       title: task.title,
       description: formatted_task,
       parent: feature_id
     })
   

Phase 5: Dependency Analysis

1. •

   Identify Dependencies

   • •Foundation phase blocks Features phase
   • •Integration phase depends on Features
   • •Technical dependencies between features
2. •

   Set Blocking Relationships

   • •Update items with blockers (where PM tool supports)
   • •Add dependency notes to descriptions
3. •

   Validate No Cycles

   • •Check for circular dependencies
   • •Report and fix if found

Phase 6: Generate Report

Output comprehensive breakdown summary:

## Epic Breakdown Complete: {title}

### Preparation Summary
- Structure Fixes: {count}
- Features Created: {count}
- Orphans Matched: {count}

### Breakdown Summary
- Total Features: {count}
- Total Tasks: {count}
- Total Items: {count}

### Distribution by Phase
- Foundation: {count} ({percent}%)
- Features: {count} ({percent}%)
- Integration: {count} ({percent}%)

### Parallelization Analysis
- Max Parallel: {count} features
- Independent Streams: {count}
- Critical Path: {count} features

### Sprint Recommendations
Based on breakdown, suggest sprint allocation.

### Next Steps
1. Review created features
2. Adjust dependencies if needed
3. Run /managing-sprints plan <epic-id>

Validation Checks

Before completing:

• • No feature larger than 8 tasks
• • No task without parent feature
• • All features have acceptance criteria
• • Dependencies form valid DAG (no cycles)
• • Features phase > 60% parallelizable

Error Handling

Output Example

🔧 Starting structure preparation...
📊 Found 4 existing features, 2 orphan tasks

✅ Preparation Complete
- Created 1 feature for missing coverage
- Matched 1 orphan to epic

🔍 Analyzing Epic: User Authentication System
✅ Epic ready for breakdown

📊 Launching 5 Parallel Analysis Agents
- Agent-1: Database schema
- Agent-2: JWT implementation
- Agent-3: OAuth providers
- Agent-4: Frontend components
- Agent-5: API endpoints

⏳ Collecting results...
✅ All analyses complete

📝 Planning Features and Tasks
- 12 features across 3 phases
- 43 tasks total
- Max parallelization: 8 features

🔨 Creating Items
- Creating 12 features... ✅
- Creating 43 tasks... ✅
- Setting dependencies... ✅

📊 Epic Breakdown Complete!
- 75% can run in parallel
- 3 suggested sprints

Ready for sprint planning!