task-create - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: task-create description: Use when creating new tasks from any context - guides correct queue assignment, priority, and field population via CLI

Task Create

Purpose

Create well-formed tasks in the PM-OS task system with correct queue placement, priority assignment, and complete field population. Every task must land in the right queue from the start to avoid unnecessary triage overhead.

When to Use

Activate when:

User asks to create a new task, action item, or to-do
Extracting tasks from meetings (use with task-extract-from-meeting)
Agent identifies follow-up work during any workflow
User invokes /task:add or similar

Do NOT use when:

Updating an existing task (use task-update)
Querying or filtering tasks (use task-query)
Completing a task (use task-complete)

Workflow Steps

1. Determine Queue

Select exactly one queue based on who owns the next action:

Queue	Use When	Examples
`human`	Requires Jay's physical presence or personal action that cannot be delegated to an agent at all	Send a personal Slack message, attend an event, make a phone call, submit an access request
`agent`	Fully autonomous; agent can complete without asking	Summarize transcript, generate report, sync data
`collab`	Agent takes action on external systems, but human must approve before execution	Calendar management (scheduling meetings), sending emails/comms, updating Jira/HubSpot/other systems
`waiting`	Delegated to someone outside the system	Waiting on legal review, design mockups from another team

Rule of thumb: If the agent could do it alone with no ambiguity, it is agent. If a human must decide or approve, it is human. If blocked on an external party, it is waiting. If the agent acts on an external system but needs human approval first, it is collab.

"Talk to someone" ≠ human: When Jay needs to connect with someone, the first step is almost always scheduling a meeting — and that's collab with --task-type schedule-meeting. The agent finds availability, drafts the invite, and Jay approves. Only use human when the action is truly unschedulable (e.g., an impromptu hallway conversation, a quick Slack DM).

Example: "Talk to Greg about voting requirements" → collab + --task-type schedule-meeting (agent schedules a meeting with Greg, Jay approves the invite).

Note: The collab queue is currently dormant — no dispatcher support yet. Tasks should be queued here for future supervised-action capability.

2. Set Priority

Priority	Criteria
`critical`	Blocking other work or has an imminent deadline (today/tomorrow)
`high`	Due this week or significant business impact
`medium`	Standard work, due within 1-2 weeks
`low`	Nice-to-have, no deadline pressure

3. Populate Fields

Required fields: title, queue, priority

Recommended fields: domain, description

Optional fields: due, tags, creator, source-meeting, project, waiting-on, waiting-expected

4. Create via CLI

./scripts/task.sh add "Title here" \
  -q <queue> \
  -p <priority> \
  -d <domain> \
  --description "What needs to happen and why" \
  --due "YYYY-MM-DD" \
  --tags "tag1,tag2" \
  --project "project-name"

For waiting queue tasks, also include:

  --waiting-on "Design team" \
  --waiting-expected "2026-03-15"

5. Validate

Title: max 200 characters, imperative verb form ("Review X", "Draft Y", "Ship Z")
Queue: one of human, agent, collab, waiting
Priority: one of critical, high, medium, low
Domain: one of product, strategy, marketing, recruiting, metrics, learning, ops
Status: automatically set to open on creation

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Putting agent-decidable work in `human` queue	If there is no ambiguity and no approval needed, use `agent`
Putting "talk to someone" or "connect with someone" in `human` queue	These require scheduling a meeting first — use `collab` + `--task-type schedule-meeting`
Missing description on complex tasks	Always add `--description` for non-obvious tasks
Vague titles like "Follow up"	Use imperative + specific object: "Follow up with Legal on DPA review"
Forgetting `--waiting-on` for waiting queue	Every `waiting` task must specify who you are waiting on
Setting everything to `critical`	Reserve critical for genuine blockers; most work is `medium`

Success Criteria

Task created with valid ID (TASK-NNNN format)
Correct queue selected based on ownership rules
Priority reflects actual urgency and impact
Title is clear, actionable, and under 200 characters
Waiting queue tasks have waiting-on populated
CLI confirms creation with task ID and file path