Task Planning
Overview
Transforms specifications and implementation plans into actionable, dependency-ordered tasks. Creates phased breakdowns that guide systematic implementation.
When To Use
- Converting specifications to implementation tasks
- Planning feature implementation order
- Identifying parallel execution opportunities
- Breaking down complex features into phases
When NOT To Use
- Writing specifications - use spec-writing
Task Phases
Tasks follow a 5-phase structure from setup through polish:
- Phase 0: Setup - Project initialization, dependencies, configuration
- Phase 1: Foundation - Data models, interfaces, test infrastructure
- Phase 2: Core Implementation - Business logic, APIs, services
- Phase 3: Integration - External services, middleware, logging
- Phase 4: Polish - Optimization, documentation, final testing
For detailed phase definitions, selection guidelines, and anti-patterns, see modules/phase-structure.md.
Task Format
Each task includes:
- ID: Unique identifier (TASK-001)
- Description: Clear action statement
- Phase: Which phase it belongs to
- Dependencies: Tasks that must complete first
- Parallel Marker: [P] if can run concurrently
- Files: Affected file paths
- Criteria: How to verify completion
Dependency Rules
Dependencies define execution order and identify parallelization opportunities:
- Sequential Tasks: Execute in strict order when dependencies exist
- Parallel Tasks [P]: Can run concurrently when ALL nonconflicting conditions are met
- File Coordination: Tasks affecting same files MUST run sequentially
Nonconflicting Criteria for Parallel Execution:
- ✅ Files: No file overlap between tasks
- ✅ State: No shared configuration or global state
- ✅ Dependencies: All prerequisites satisfied
- ✅ Code paths: No merge conflicts possible
- ✅ Outputs: Tasks don't need each other's results
Mark tasks with [P] ONLY if they pass ALL criteria above.
For fan-out/fan-in patterns, task ID conventions, and validation rules, see modules/dependency-patterns.md.
Example Task Entry
## Phase 2: Core Implementation
### TASK-007 - Implement user authentication service [P]
**Dependencies**: TASK-003, TASK-004
**Files**: src/services/auth.ts, src/types/user.ts
**Criteria**: All auth tests pass, tokens are valid JWTVerification: Run pytest -v to verify tests pass.
Quality Checklist
- All requirements mapped to tasks
- Dependencies are explicit
- Parallel opportunities identified
- Tasks are right-sized (not too large/small)
- Each task has clear completion criteria
Related Skills
spec-writing: Creating source specificationsspeckit-orchestrator: Workflow coordination