Development Using Claude Code or Codex · Part 4
Part 4: Task Breakdown Skill
April 10, 2026 · 1 min read
Task BreakdownPlanningExecution
A good breakdown is what separates smooth execution from random coding.
Skill for This Post: task-breakdown
Create .ai/skills/task-breakdown/SKILL.md:
---
name: task-breakdown
description: Break approved PRD intake into atomic engineering tasks with dependencies, estimates, and done criteria.
---
# Task Breakdown
## Rules
- Tasks must be independently testable.
- No task should mix API, UI, and infra unless absolutely necessary.
- Every task needs explicit done criteria.
- Mark tasks as parallelizable or sequential.
## Required Output
For each task:
- id
- title
- scope
- dependencies
- estimate (S/M/L)
- risk (low/medium/high)
- done criteria
Also output:
1) critical path
2) parallel tracks
3) first task to start nowPrompt Pattern
Run task-breakdown on the approved PRD intake.
Keep tasks atomic and testable.
Output a numbered task list plus critical path.Why This Skill Matters
- Prevents hidden dependency surprises
- Enables parallel work without merge chaos
- Gives code review and QA clean handoff boundaries
Cross-Agent Install
ln -sfn "$PWD/.ai/skills/task-breakdown" ~/.claude/skills/task-breakdown
ln -sfn "$PWD/.ai/skills/task-breakdown" ~/.codex/skills/task-breakdownNext
Part 5 uses the first task and executes it with a tight implementation loop.