---
title: 'Task decomposition'
description: 'Breaking an objective into smaller units with explicit dependencies, interfaces, acceptance criteria, and ownership.'
canonical_url: 'https://darkfactory.dev/glossary/task-decomposition'
markdown_url: 'https://darkfactory.dev/glossary/task-decomposition.md'
collection: glossary
date_published: '2026-08-03T00:00:00-04:00'
date_modified: '2026-08-26T00:00:00-04:00'
---

# Task decomposition


## Definition

Task decomposition breaks an objective into smaller units with explicit dependencies, interfaces, acceptance criteria, and ownership. The goal is not simply to produce a longer list. Each unit should be understandable, assignable, and verifiable without losing the constraints of the whole.

Good decomposition follows real boundaries in the work: separate evidence sources, modules, risk classes, or outcomes that can be checked independently. It records what each task consumes and produces, which tasks can proceed in parallel, and where results must be reconciled.

Poor decomposition creates hidden integration work. Tasks can overlap, depend on unstated assumptions, or each pass locally while the overall objective fails. Keep a system-level acceptance test alongside task-level checks.

## Distinguish it from nearby terms

Decomposition defines the work units and their relationships. Orchestration schedules and coordinates them. Planning may include decomposition, sequencing, resource allocation, and revision.

## Check your understanding

A website redesign is split into header, body, and footer tasks, each owned by a separate agent. All three choose different typography. The tasks were smaller, but the decomposition omitted the shared design contract.

## Also called

planning decomposition

## Related factory areas

- [Planning, decomposition & work admission](https://darkfactory.dev/factory/planning-decomposition)

## Evidence and further reading

- [Runtime-Structured Task Decomposition](https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.15425)
- [Beyond Individual Intelligence (LIFE)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.14892)