Paths: File paths (references/, ../ln-*) are relative to this skill directory.

Scope Decomposer (Top Orchestrator)

Type: L1 Top Orchestrator Category: 2XX Planning

Top-level orchestrator for complete initiative decomposition from scope to User Stories through Epic and Story coordinators.

Purpose

What This Skill Does

Coordinates the complete decomposition pipeline for new initiatives:

• Auto-discovers Team ID from kanban_board.md
• Phase 1: Discovery (Team ID)
• Phase 2: Epic Decomposition (delegates to ln-210-epic-coordinator)
• Phase 3: Story Decomposition Loop (precompute read-only inputs in batch, then delegate to ln-220-story-coordinator per Epic sequentially)
• Phase 4: RICE Prioritization Loop (optional, precompute child runtime inputs, then delegate to ln-230-story-prioritizer per applicable Epic sequentially)
• Phase 5: Summary (total counts + next steps)

Runtime Contract

MANDATORY READ: Load references/coordinator_runtime_contract.md, references/scope_decomposition_runtime_contract.md, references/scope_decomposition_summary_contract.md, references/epic_plan_summary_contract.md, references/coordinator_summary_contract.md

Runtime family: scope-decomposition-runtime

Identifier:

• scope identifier

Phases:

1. PHASE_0_CONFIG
2. PHASE_1_DISCOVERY
3. PHASE_2_EPIC_DECOMPOSITION
4. PHASE_3_STORY_LOOP
5. PHASE_4_PRIORITIZATION_LOOP
6. PHASE_5_FINALIZE
7. PHASE_6_SELF_CHECK

Coordinator summary contract:

• consume epic-plan from ln-210
• consume story-plan from ln-220
• consume story-prioritization-worker from ln-230
• write final scope-decomposition coordinator summary during PHASE_5_FINALIZE

Worker Invocation (MANDATORY)

Host Skill Invocation: Skill(skill: "...", args: "...") is mandatory delegation.

• Claude: call the Skill tool exactly as shown.
• Codex: if no Skill tool exists, locate the named skill in available skills, read its SKILL.md, treat args as $ARGUMENTS, execute that skill workflow, then return here with its result/artifact.
• Do not inline worker logic or mark the worker complete without executing the target skill.

Workers delegated by phase:

• Phase 2: ln-210-epic-coordinator — Epic decomposition (CREATE/REPLAN)
• Phase 3: ln-220-story-coordinator — Story decomposition per Epic (sequential)
• Phase 4: ln-230-story-prioritizer — Optional RICE prioritization per Epic (sequential)

# Phase 2 — Epic decomposition
node references/scripts/epic-planning-runtime/cli.mjs start --identifier {scopeIdentifier} --manifest-file {epicManifestPath}
Skill(skill: "ln-210-epic-coordinator", args: "{scopeIdentifier} --manifest-file {epicManifestPath}")
node references/scripts/scope-decomposition-runtime/cli.mjs record-epic-summary --identifier {scopeIdentifier} --payload-file {epicSummaryArtifactPath}

# Phase 3 — Story decomposition (per Epic, sequential)
node references/scripts/story-planning-runtime/cli.mjs start --epic {epicId} --manifest-file {storyManifestPath}
Skill(skill: "ln-220-story-coordinator", args: "{epicId} --manifest-file {storyManifestPath}")
node references/scripts/scope-decomposition-runtime/cli.mjs record-story-summary --identifier {scopeIdentifier} --payload-file {storySummaryArtifactPath}

# Phase 4 — RICE prioritization (optional, per Epic, sequential)
node references/scripts/planning-worker-runtime/cli.mjs start --skill ln-230 --identifier {identifier} --manifest-file {prioritizationManifestPath} --run-id {childRunId} --summary-artifact-path {childSummaryArtifactPath}
child_run = { skill, run_id, identifier, summary_artifact_path }
childSummaryArtifactPath = .hex-skills/runtime-artifacts/runs/{parent_run_id}/story-prioritization-worker/ln-230--{identifier}.json
Skill(skill: "ln-230-story-prioritizer", args: "{identifier} --epic {epicId} --run-id {childRunId} --summary-artifact-path {childSummaryArtifactPath}")
Read {childSummaryArtifactPath}
node references/scripts/scope-decomposition-runtime/cli.mjs record-prioritization-summary --identifier {scopeIdentifier} --payload-file {childSummaryArtifactPath}

TodoWrite format (mandatory)

- Phase 1: Discover top-level scope context (pending)
- Phase 2: Run Epic decomposition (pending)
- Phase 3: Run sequential Story loop (pending)
- Phase 4: Run optional prioritization loop (pending)
- Phase 5: Finalize scope summary (pending)
- Phase 6: Self-check (pending)

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:

• Start new initiative requiring full decomposition (scope → Epics → Stories)
• Automate Epic + Story creation in single workflow
• Prefer full pipeline over manual step-by-step invocation
• Time-efficient approach for new projects (2-3 hours end-to-end)

Alternative: For granular control, invoke coordinators manually:

1. ln-210-epic-coordinator - CREATE/REPLAN Epics
2. ln-220-story-coordinator - CREATE/REPLAN Stories (once per Epic)
3. ln-230-story-prioritizer - RICE prioritization (once per Epic)

When NOT to Use

Do NOT use if:

• Initiative already has Epics → Use ln-210-epic-coordinator REPLAN mode instead
• Need to replan existing Stories → Use ln-220-story-coordinator REPLAN mode per Epic
• Only need Epic creation → Use ln-210-epic-coordinator directly
• Only need Story creation for specific Epic → Use ln-220-story-coordinator directly

Core Concepts

Orchestrator Pattern

ln-200-scope-decomposer is a pure coordinator - it does NOT execute work directly:

• ✅ Discovers context (Team ID)
• ✅ Makes routing decisions (which coordinator to invoke)
• ✅ Delegates all work via Skill tool (ln-210, ln-220, ln-230)
• ✅ Manages workflow state (Epic creation → Story loop)
• ❌ Does NOT research project docs (ln-210 does this)
• ❌ Does NOT generate Epic/Story documents (ln-210/ln-220 do this)
• ❌ Does NOT create tracker issues (coordinators do this via the configured provider)
• ❌ Does NOT prompt user (coordinators handle all user interaction)

Coordinators:

• ln-210-epic-coordinator: Creates 3-7 Epics (Epic 0 for Infrastructure if applicable, Epic 1-N for business domains)
• ln-220-story-coordinator: Creates 5-10 Stories per Epic (with inline standards research)

Sequential Story Decomposition

CRITICAL CONSTRAINT: Epic N Stories MUST complete before Epic N+1 starts (ln-220 includes user interaction — interactive dialog cannot be parallelized across Epics).

Why sequential?

• ln-220-story-coordinator includes user interaction (Story preview confirmation)
• Interactive dialog cannot be parallelized (user must review each Epic's Stories)
• Ensures Epic N Stories are approved and created before starting Epic N+1
• Read-only preparation MAY be batched first (Epic metadata, child manifests, artifact paths), but Story creation itself remains sequential

Example: 6 Epics → ln-220 invoked 6 times sequentially (Epic 0 → Epic 1 → Epic 2 → ... → Epic 5)

Infrastructure Epic = Epic 0

Reserved number: Epic 0 is reserved for Infrastructure Epic (if proposed by ln-210).

Numbering:

• IF Infrastructure Epic exists → Epic 0 (Infrastructure), Epic 1-N (business domains)
• ELSE → Epic 1-N (business domains only)

Decision: ln-210-epic-coordinator Phase 1 Step 3 automatically determines if Infrastructure Epic is needed (new project, multi-stack, security/monitoring requirements).

Auto-Discovery

Team ID: Auto-discovered from docs/tasks/kanban_board.md Tracker Configuration table (see CLAUDE.md "Configuration Auto-Discovery").

Fallback: If kanban_board.md missing → ln-210-epic-coordinator will ask user directly

Workflow

Phase 1: Discovery (Automated)

Auto-discovers Team ID from docs/tasks/kanban_board.md.

Validation:

• Team ID exists in kanban_board.md
• If missing → Skip (ln-210 will request from user)

NO user confirmation at orchestrator level - coordinators handle all user interaction.

Output: Team ID (or None if not found)

Phase 2: Epic Decomposition (Delegated)

Objective: Create all Epics for initiative.

Managed coordinator launch:

🔄 [ORCHESTRATOR] Phase 2: Delegating Epic creation to ln-210-epic-coordinator

node references/scripts/epic-planning-runtime/cli.mjs start --identifier {scopeIdentifier} --manifest-file {epicManifestPath}
child_run = { skill: "ln-210", run_id, identifier, summary_artifact_path }
node references/scripts/scope-decomposition-runtime/cli.mjs record-epic-summary --identifier {scopeIdentifier} --payload-file {epicSummaryArtifactPath}

ln-210-epic-coordinator will:

• Phase 1: Research project docs (requirements.md, architecture.md, tech_stack.md)
• Phase 2: Auto-propose domains + Infrastructure Epic (Epic 0) → User confirms domain list
• Phase 3: Build IDEAL Epic plan (Epic 0-N)
• Phase 5a: Auto-extract Q1-Q4 from docs → Generate ALL Epic documents → Show batch preview → User confirms → Create all Epics
• Return: Epic URLs + summary

After completion: Epics created via the configured tracker provider, kanban_board.md updated.

Output: 3-7 Epics created (Epic 0 for Infrastructure if applicable, Epic 1-N for business domains)

Phase 3: Story Decomposition Loop (Sequential, Delegated)

Objective: Create Stories for EACH Epic. Prepare read-only child inputs once, then execute the Epic loop sequentially.

Sequential Loop Logic:

PREPARE once:
    1. Read epic-plan summary
    2. Precompute story child identifiers
    3. Precompute manifest paths + summary artifact paths

FOR EACH Epic (Epic 0, Epic 1, ..., Epic N):
    1. Invoke ln-220-story-coordinator for current Epic
    2. Wait for completion
    3. Verify Stories created in kanban_board.md
    4. Move to next Epic

Stop Conditions (Decomposition Loops)

Invocation per Epic:

🔄 [ORCHESTRATOR] Phase 3: Delegating Story creation for Epic N to ln-220-story-coordinator

node references/scripts/story-planning-runtime/cli.mjs start --epic {epicId} --manifest-file {storyManifestPath}
child_run = { skill: "ln-220", run_id, identifier, summary_artifact_path }
node references/scripts/scope-decomposition-runtime/cli.mjs record-story-summary --identifier {scopeIdentifier} --payload-file {storySummaryArtifactPath}

ln-220-story-coordinator will (per Epic):

• Phase 1: Auto-extract Q1-Q6 from Epic + Fallback search (requirements.md, tech_stack.md)
• Phase 2: Research standards inline MCP Ref (auto)
• Phase 3: Build IDEAL Story plan (5-10 Stories)
• Phase 4a: Generate ALL Story documents → Show preview → User confirms → Create all Stories
• Return: Story URLs + summary

Sequential constraint explanation:

• ln-220 includes user interaction (Story preview confirmation)
• Cannot parallelize - user must review each Epic's Stories sequentially
• Epic N Stories approved → Epic N+1 Stories generated

After each Epic: Stories created via the configured tracker provider, kanban_board.md updated.

Output: 30-60 Stories total (5-10 per Epic × 3-7 Epics)

TodoWrite format (mandatory): Add phases and Epic iterations to todos before starting:

- Phase 1: Discovery (in_progress)
- Phase 2: Delegate to ln-210-epic-coordinator (pending)
- Phase 3: Delegate to ln-220 for Epic 0 (pending)
- Phase 3: Delegate to ln-220 for Epic 1 (pending)
- Phase 3: Delegate to ln-220 for Epic 2 (pending)
... (one todo per Epic)
- Phase 4: Delegate to ln-230 for Epic 0 (pending)
- Phase 4: Delegate to ln-230 for Epic 1 (pending)
... (one todo per Epic, optional)
- Phase 5: Summary (pending)

Mark each as in_progress when starting, completed when coordinator returns success.

Phase 4: RICE Prioritization Loop (Optional, Sequential, Delegated)

Objective: Prioritize Stories per applicable Epic using RICE scoring with market research.

OPTIONAL: Ask user "Run RICE prioritization for all Epics?" If user declines, skip to Phase 5.

Sequential Loop Logic:

PREPARE once:
    1. Set prioritization_enabled=true|false in runtime state
    2. Determine expected_prioritization_epics (only Epics that should be prioritized)
    3. Precompute child identifiers, manifests, and artifact paths

FOR EACH expected Epic:
    1. Invoke ln-230-story-prioritizer for current Epic
    2. Wait for completion
    3. Verify prioritization.md created in docs/market/[epic-slug]/
    4. Move to next Epic

Invocation per Epic:

node references/scripts/planning-worker-runtime/cli.mjs start --skill ln-230 --identifier {identifier} --manifest-file {prioritizationManifestPath} --run-id {childRunId} --summary-artifact-path {childSummaryArtifactPath}
child_run = { skill: "ln-230", run_id, identifier, summary_artifact_path }
node references/scripts/scope-decomposition-runtime/cli.mjs record-prioritization-summary --identifier {scopeIdentifier} --payload-file {childSummaryArtifactPath}

ln-230-story-prioritizer will (per Epic):

• Load Stories metadata via the configured tracker provider (listStoriesByEpic)
• Research market size and competition per Story
• Calculate RICE score and assign Priority (P0-P3)
• Generate docs/market/[epic-slug]/prioritization.md

Skip condition: If Epic contains only technical or infrastructure Stories with no meaningful business ordering decision, do not add that Epic to expected_prioritization_epics.

After each Epic: Prioritization table saved to docs/market/[epic-slug]/prioritization.md and recorded under that Epic's summary.

Finalize rule: If prioritization is enabled, runtime finalize is allowed only after ALL expected_prioritization_epics have recorded story-prioritization-worker summaries.

Output: Prioritization tables for all applicable Epics.

Phase 5: Summary and Next Steps

Objective: Provide complete decomposition overview using aggregated results from all Epic-level summaries.

🔄 [ORCHESTRATOR] Phase 5: Full decomposition complete

Initiative Decomposition Summary:
- Epics created: N Projects (Epic 0: Infrastructure [if exists], Epic 1-N: Business domains)
- Stories created: M Issues (breakdown per Epic)
- Prioritization completed: K Epic tables (aggregated across all expected Epic runs)
- Location: docs/tasks/kanban_board.md

Next Steps:
1. Run ln-310-multi-agent-validator to validate all Stories
2. Use ln-400-story-executor to process each Story (tasks → execution → Done)
   OR use ln-300-task-coordinator to create tasks manually for each Story

Output: Summary message with full decomposition results

Before PHASE_6_SELF_CHECK, write the final coordinator artifact:

node references/scripts/scope-decomposition-runtime/cli.mjs record-scope-summary --identifier {scopeIdentifier} --payload-file {scopeSummaryPath}

Critical Rules

1. No User Prompts at Orchestrator Level

Orchestrator does NOT prompt user:

• ❌ NO "Proceed with decomposition?" confirmation (redundant - coordinators already confirm)
• ❌ NO time estimates (misleading - actual time varies)
• ❌ NO Epic/Story previews (coordinators handle this)

All user interaction delegated to coordinators:

• ln-210 Phase 2: Domain approval (USER CONTROL POINT 1)
• ln-210 Phase 5a: Epic batch preview (USER CONTROL POINT 2)
• ln-220 Phase 4a: Story preview per Epic (USER CONTROL POINT 3, N times)

2. Parallelize Only Read-Only Preparation

• Batch preparation is allowed for metadata loading, manifest generation, and artifact path planning.
• Do NOT parallelize Epic or Story mutations across Epics.
• Do NOT parallelize user-facing preview checkpoints.

Definition of Done

Before completing work, verify ALL checkpoints:

✅ Team ID Discovered (Phase 1):

• Team ID loaded from kanban_board.md OR skipped (ln-210 will request)

✅ Epic Decomposition Complete (Phase 2):

• Delegated to ln-210-epic-coordinator
• 3-7 Epics created (Epic 0 for Infrastructure if applicable, Epic 1-N for business domains)
• Epic URLs returned
• Epics visible in kanban_board.md
• epic-plan summary recorded in runtime state

✅ Story Decomposition Complete (Phase 3):

• Delegated to ln-220-story-coordinator for EACH Epic (sequential)
• 5-10 Stories created per Epic
• Story URLs returned for each Epic
• All Stories visible in kanban_board.md (Backlog section)
• story-plan summaries recorded for all processed Epics

✅ RICE Prioritization Complete (Phase 4, optional):

• User asked about prioritization (skip if declined)
• Runtime recorded whether prioritization is enabled
• Runtime recorded expected_prioritization_epics when prioritization is enabled
• Delegated to ln-230-story-prioritizer for each expected Epic
• Prioritization tables saved to docs/market/[epic-slug]/
• story-prioritization-worker summaries recorded for all expected Epics

✅ Summary Provided (Phase 5):

• Total counts displayed (Epics, Stories, breakdown per Epic)
• kanban_board.md location shown
• Next steps provided (validation, task creation)
• Final scope-decomposition summary recorded before self-check

Output: Summary message with full decomposition results (Epics + Stories per Epic)

Integration with Ecosystem

Called By

Users directly: "Decompose initiative: [initiative name]" or "Create epics and stories for [project]"

Calls (via Skill tool)

• ln-210-epic-coordinator (Phase 2) - CREATE mode (batch Epic creation with batch preview)
• ln-220-story-coordinator (Phase 3, sequential loop) - CREATE mode per Epic (Story creation with preview)
• ln-230-story-prioritizer (Phase 4, optional sequential loop) - RICE prioritization per Epic

Downstream

After ln-200-scope-decomposer completes:

• ln-310-multi-agent-validator - validates all created Stories before task creation
• ln-400-story-executor - processes each Story (tasks → execution → Done)
  • OR ln-300-task-coordinator - creates tasks manually for each Story

Best Practices

Coordinator Trust

Trust coordinator results: Coordinators return summary, orchestrator doesn't re-verify.

Error handling: If coordinator returns error, report to user and stop pipeline.

Time Estimates

Realistic estimate: 2-3 hours for full decomposition (6 Epics × 7 Stories avg = 42 Stories).

Breakdown:

• Phase 2 (Epic creation): 30-45 min (batch preview reduces time)
• Phase 3 (Story creation): 1.5-2 hours (6 Epics × 15-20 min per Epic)
• Phase 4 (Summary): 2 min

Do NOT provide time estimates to user - varies based on project complexity and user response time.

Example Usage

Request:

"Decompose initiative: E-commerce Platform"

Execution:

1. Phase 1: Discovery

   • Team ID loaded from kanban_board.md

2. Phase 2: Epic Decomposition

   • Invoke ln-210-epic-coordinator
   • ln-210 creates 6 Epics:
     • Epic 11 (Infrastructure Epic 0 pattern)
     • Epic 12-16 (business domains)
   • Output: 6 Epic URLs

3. Phase 3: Story Decomposition Loop (Sequential)

   • Epic 11: Invoke ln-220 → 6 Stories (US017-US022)
   • Epic 12: Invoke ln-220 → 7 Stories (US023-US029)
   • Epic 13: Invoke ln-220 → 5 Stories (US030-US034)
   • Epic 14: Invoke ln-220 → 6 Stories (US035-US040)
   • Epic 15: Invoke ln-220 → 7 Stories (US041-US047)
   • Epic 16: Invoke ln-220 → 5 Stories (US048-US052)
   • Output: 36 Stories total

4. Phase 4: Summary

   🔄 [ORCHESTRATOR] Full decomposition complete
   
   Initiative: E-commerce Platform
   - Epics created: 6 Projects (Epic 11: Infrastructure, Epic 12-16: Business domains)
   - Stories created: 36 Issues
     - Epic 11: 6 Stories
     - Epic 12: 7 Stories
     - Epic 13: 5 Stories
     - Epic 14: 6 Stories
     - Epic 15: 7 Stories
     - Epic 16: 5 Stories
   - Location: docs/tasks/kanban_board.md
   
   Next Steps:
   1. Run ln-310-multi-agent-validator to validate all Stories
   2. Use ln-400-story-executor to process each Story (tasks → execution → Done)
   

   Copy

Result: 6 Epics + 36 Stories created through full pipeline automation

Phase 6: Meta-Analysis

Optional reference: load references/meta_analysis_protocol.md only when the user asks for post-run meta-analysis or protocol-formatted run reflection.

Skill type: planning-coordinator. When requested, run after all phases complete. Output to chat using the planning-coordinator format.

Reference Files

• Configuration source: docs/tasks/kanban_board.md (Team ID, Next Epic Number)
• Epic coordinator: ln-210-epic-coordinator/SKILL.md
• Story coordinator: ln-220-story-coordinator/SKILL.md
• Story prioritizer: ln-230-story-prioritizer/SKILL.md
• Numbering conventions: references/numbering_conventions.md (Epic 0 reserved)

Chat Output Prefix

Use emoji prefix for visual differentiation:

• 🔄 [ORCHESTRATOR] - ln-200-scope-decomposer (top orchestrator)

Purpose: Helps users track orchestrator progress when delegating to multiple coordinators.

Version: 2.0.0 Last Updated: 2025-11-20