dependency-analysis_skill

Overview

This skill analyzes task dependencies to find blocked tasks, map dependency chains, and identify bottlenecks that limit parallel work. It helps teams understand why progress is stalled and recommends which dependencies to resolve first to maximize throughput. Use it to detect circular dependencies, prioritize unblocking work, and plan parallel assignments.

How this skill works

The skill queries tasks for a feature, inspects incoming and outgoing dependencies, and builds dependency trees. It identifies tasks with incomplete blockers, counts how many tasks each candidate unblocks, and computes a resolution score that balances impact, priority, and complexity. For chain analysis it traces dependencies recursively to find the critical path and detect cycles.

When to use it

• When a feature appears stalled and you need to know what's blocking progress
• When planning parallel work across team members and you need ready tasks
• When prioritizing which blocked tasks to resolve to maximize unblock impact
• When investigating circular dependencies or unusually long dependency chains
• When identifying bottlenecks that block multiple downstream tasks

Best practices

• Start with a feature-level search for tasks, then inspect dependencies per task
• Filter out completed or cancelled dependencies when determining blockers
• Factor priority and complexity into recommendations, not just dependency counts
• Visualize chains and highlight the critical path to focus effort
• Re-run analysis after state changes; dependency graphs are dynamic

Example use cases

• Report: "Which tasks are blocked in the authentication feature and what unblocks them?"
• Critical path analysis before a release to identify the longest dependency chain
• Bottleneck detection to find the single task blocking the most downstream work
• Parallelization: list tasks with no incomplete dependencies and group by specialist
• Detect and report circular dependencies that cause deadlocks