Task Decomposition Anti-Patterns
Purpose: Use this file to validate decomposition quality during MAP, especially when steps are too large, too early, or structurally misleading.
Contents
TD-01toTD-07- Decomposition signals
- Vertical vs horizontal slicing
- WBS checklist
Anti-Patterns
| ID | Anti-pattern | Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
TD-01 |
God Task | many steps still exceed 15 min; no clear test or commit point |
keep decomposing to atomic steps |
TD-02 |
Premature Decomposition | detailed plan before the requirements are clear | investigate first, then decompose gradually |
TD-03 |
Skill-Based Splitting | “coding / testing / docs” slices create silos | prefer functional or component slices |
TD-04 |
Template Addiction | every story gets the same boilerplate breakdown | let tasks emerge from the actual work |
TD-05 |
Missing 100% Rule | hidden work appears later | explicitly check setup, tests, docs, and config |
TD-06 |
Dependency Blindness | parallel work later proves serial | create a dependency graph during decomposition |
TD-07 |
Over-Decomposition | 20+ tasks or status work dominates real work |
regroup and reduce management overhead |
Decomposition Signals
Split Further When
- a step exceeds
15 min - the test method is unclear
- no clean commit point exists
- multiple files or modules are touched
- the step contains implicit sequencing such as “do X, then Y”
Stop Splitting When
- work is under
5 min - the sub-step cannot be verified on its own
- tracking cost exceeds execution cost
- the current list already exceeds about
20items
Sweet Spot
- Epic ->
3-5Stories - Story ->
3-8Tasks - Task ->
2-4Atomic Steps - Atomic Step -> do not decompose further