task-breakdown_skill

Overview

This skill breaks a product story into a single, ordered backend task file following a layered architecture: Types → Database → Repository → Service → API → Tests. It creates or updates docs/reference/backend/tasks/story-{name}.md and ensures tasks are independently testable, numbered, and include acceptance criteria and dependencies.

How this skill works

The skill reads the story from docs/reference/pm/stories/, loads any related backend designs, design system, and constraints, then identifies required backend components and interactions. It generates a single task file with sequential tasks organized by layers, inserts clear scope, implementation steps, and acceptance criteria for each task, and updates the original story file with a Related Tasks section and progress checklist.

When to use it

• You run the /backend.tasks command to generate backend work items
• You ask to "break down story", "create backend tasks", or "split into tasks"
• A PM story exists under docs/reference/pm/stories/ and needs a task plan
• You want tasks ordered strictly by backend architecture layers
• Starting backend implementation and need an organized execution list

Best practices

• Always check for an existing docs/reference/backend/tasks/story-{name}.md and update it instead of creating a duplicate
• Keep each task single-responsibility and independently testable with clear acceptance criteria
• Follow the fixed layer order: Types → Database → Repository → Service → API → Tests
• Note dependencies in each task and use --- dividers between tasks
• Add or update the Related Tasks section in the story file with progress and checkboxes

Example use cases

• Convert a PM story for user-profile into a stepwise backend plan before implementation
• Add backend tasks for a new feature that requires DB schema, repository, and service logic
• Update an existing task file with new subtasks after scope changes without re-breaking down
• Ensure tests are planned last by adding explicit test tasks tied to each implemented layer
• Generate a single deliverable task file for handoff to backend engineers