Hierarchical Task Decomposition: From Intent to Subtasks
Hierarchical Task Decomposition: From Intent to Subtasks
Why decomposition matters
Humans naturally chunk work. Agents must learn it explicitly. Hierarchical decomposition reduces cognitive load and makes failure recovery easier.
Turning vague intent into clear subtasks
Example goal: “Launch a newsletter campaign.” Decompose into:
- Define audience
- Draft content
- Design template
- Schedule send
- Track metrics
Stop conditions and acceptance criteria
Each subtask must have a definition of done. “Draft content” is done when: subject line + body + CTA exist and meet length constraints.
Dependency graph thinking
Some tasks can run in parallel, some cannot. Agents can model dependencies like a DAG:
Audience → Content → Template → Send
Practical tip: keep steps small
If a step cannot be validated, it’s too big.
