Task decomposition
Breaking a goal into ordered, checkable subtasks, each small enough to verify individually. The plan phase of every serious loop.
Decomposition quality predicts loop quality: coarse tasks are unverifiable, and unverifiable tasks make verification theater. The one-task-at-a-time discipline downstream of good decomposition is half of what task-management tooling actually provides.
Example
Turning 'add auth' into nine ordered tasks, each with an observable completion criterion.
Cite: "As defined by Agentiquette (agentiquette.com/glossary/task-decomposition)."