parallel-task-format

Productivity

Compact YAML format for defining parallel task specifications with scope, boundaries, and agent assignments. Use when creating task files for parallel development.

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Task Specification Format

Compact YAML format for parallel task files in parallel/TS-XXXX-slug/tasks/.

Complete Task Example

---
id: task-001
component: users
wave: 1
deps: []
blocks: [task-004, task-005]
agent: python-experts:django-expert
skills: [python-experts:python-style, python-experts:django-dev, python-experts:django-api]
tech_spec: TS-0042
contracts: [contracts/types.py, contracts/api-schema.yaml]
---
# task-001: User Management

## Scope
CREATE: apps/users/{models,views,serializers,urls}.py, apps/users/tests/*.py
MODIFY: config/urls.py
BOUNDARY: apps/orders/*, apps/products/*, apps/*/migrations/*

## Requirements
- User model with email authentication
- UserSerializer with explicit fields
- UserViewSet (list, retrieve, create, update)
- Email uniqueness validation

## Checklist
- [ ] Model matches UserDTO in contracts/types.py
- [ ] API matches /api/users/* in contracts/api-schema.yaml
- [ ] pytest apps/users/ passes
- [ ] mypy apps/users/ passes
- [ ] ruff check apps/users/ passes
- [ ] No files modified outside scope

YAML Frontmatter Fields

Field	Required	Description
`id`	Yes	Task identifier (task-NNN or task-NNN-component)
`component`	Yes	System component name
`wave`	Yes	Dependency wave number (1, 2, 3...)
`deps`	Yes	Task IDs this depends on (empty list `[]` if none)
`blocks`	No	Task IDs this blocks (optional)
`agent`	Yes	Recommended agent type
`skills`	Yes	Skills the agent should invoke (list from agent-skills-mapping.yaml)
`tech_spec`	No	Tech Spec ID (if applicable)
`contracts`	Yes	Contract files to reference (relative paths)

Note: skills are stored in task files so prompt generation can include them in === REQUIRED SKILLS === sections. They are NOT stored in manifest.json.

Scope Section Format

Use compact notation with three directives:

CREATE

Files to create (use glob patterns). A file can only be in CREATE for ONE task.

CREATE: apps/users/{models,views,serializers,urls}.py, apps/users/tests/*.py

MODIFY

Existing files to modify. Use scoped syntax for parallel modifications:

Unscoped (whole file - only ONE task per wave can use this):

MODIFY: config/urls.py, config/settings.py

Scoped (specific section - multiple tasks in same wave can modify different scopes):

MODIFY: apps/users/models.py::User.save          # Owns User.save method
MODIFY: apps/users/models.py::User.clean         # Different task owns User.clean
MODIFY: apps/users/views.py::UserViewSet         # Owns entire class
MODIFY: config/urls.py::urlpatterns              # Owns urlpatterns list

Scoped syntax rules:

file.py::ClassName - owns entire class
file.py::function_name - owns entire function
file.py::ClassName.method - owns specific method
Scopes must NOT overlap (no nesting like ::Class and ::Class.method in same wave)

BOUNDARY

Files NOT to touch (owned by other tasks):

BOUNDARY: apps/orders/*, apps/products/*, apps/*/migrations/*

Task Naming Convention

task-{number}-{component}.md

Examples:
- task-001-users.md
- task-002-products.md
- task-003-orders.md
- task-004-api.md
- task-005-integration.md

Agent Type Selection

Task Files	Agent	Description
`apps//models.py`, `apps//views.py`	`python-experts:django-expert`	Django models, views, serializers
`api/.py`, `routers/.py`	`python-experts:fastapi-expert`	FastAPI endpoints
`src/components/*.tsx`	`frontend-experts:react-typescript-expert`	React components
`*/test_.py`, `*/tests/.py`	`python-experts:python-testing-expert`	Python tests
`.spec.ts`, `.test.tsx`	`frontend-experts:playwright-testing-expert`	TypeScript/E2E tests
`terraform/`, `docker-compose.yml`	`devops-data:devops-expert`	Infrastructure
Integration, architecture	`devops-data:cto-architect`	Cross-cutting concerns

Contract References

Contracts are in the same parallel directory:

parallel/TS-0042-slug/
  contracts/
    types.py        # Reference as: contracts/types.py
    api-schema.yaml # Reference as: contracts/api-schema.yaml
  tasks/
    task-001-users.md

Wave Dependencies

Tasks in Wave N can only depend on tasks in Waves 1 to N-1:

Wave 1: task-001, task-002 (no dependencies, run in parallel)
Wave 2: task-003 (depends on task-001, task-002)
Wave 3: task-004 (depends on task-003)

deps vs blocks

deps: Tasks that MUST complete before this task starts
blocks: Tasks that CANNOT start until this task completes

Both express the same relationship from different perspectives:

# task-001
blocks: [task-003]

# task-003
deps: [task-001]

Requirements Section

Clear, actionable requirements:

## Requirements
- Implement `User` model with fields: `email`, `username`, `password`, `is_active`
- Create `UserSerializer` with all User fields (hide password)
- Implement `UserViewSet` with: list, retrieve, create, update
- Add email validation and uniqueness constraint
- Test coverage: minimum 85%

Checklist Section

Verification criteria:

## Checklist
- [ ] Model matches DTO in contracts/types.py
- [ ] API matches schema in contracts/api-schema.yaml
- [ ] pytest apps/users/ passes
- [ ] mypy apps/users/ --strict passes
- [ ] Coverage >= 85%
- [ ] No files modified outside scope

Why Compact Format?

Token efficiency: Less tokens for agent context
Faster parsing: YAML frontmatter is standard
Clear boundaries: Scope section is scannable
Actionable checklist: Verification is explicit

Validation Rules

Before using tasks:

Every task has unique id
Every task has agent assigned
Every task has skills list (from agent-skills-mapping.yaml)
Every task has contracts referenced
Every task has BOUNDARY section
No circular dependencies in deps
Wave numbers are sequential (1, 2, 3...)
Wave 1 tasks have deps: []

Output Format

The Output Format JSON block is not included in task files or generated prompts. It's managed via system prompt by the external execution tool (cpo orchestrator).

This ensures consistent JSON output format across all agents without duplicating the schema in every prompt.