Work Unit Decomposition

Overview

Break implementation plans into discrete, testable work units. Each unit has enumerated Definition of Done items, declared file scope, dependency mapping, and optional human checkpoint flags.

When to Use

• After plan review gate approval
• When decomposing a large feature into implementable chunks
• When preparing for orchestrated execution

Work Unit Structure

Each work unit specifies:

• ID - Unique identifier
• Title - Human-readable description
• Definition of Done - Enumerated checklist items
• File Scope - Which files the unit may modify
• Dependencies - Other work units this depends on
• Human Checkpoint - Whether human approval is needed before execution
• Parallel Safe - Whether it can execute alongside other units

Human Checkpoint Triggers

Mark human checkpoints for:

• Schema or database changes
• Security-sensitive code paths
• New architectural patterns not seen in codebase
• External API integrations
• Breaking changes to public interfaces

Agents Used

• agents/architect/ - Creates the decomposition
• agents/cto/ - Validates TDD readiness per unit

Tool Use

Invoke as part of: methodologies/metaswarm/metaswarm-orchestrator (Phase 4)