analyze-task

name: analyze-task description: Use when a Formax repository task is non-trivial and you should analyze goals, non-goals, boundaries, data/type/interface impact, contract impact, test strategy, and whether an xhigh subagent is actually needed before writing a todo or code.

Analyze Task

Use this skill before coding for non-trivial repository work:

• new features
• cross-layer changes
• architecture or model changes
• complex bugs
• tasks that likely need multiple commits / reviews / loops

Do not use it for tiny local edits that can be implemented and verified immediately.

Purpose

Produce a short Analysis Brief that makes the task discussable and executable.

This skill is for:

• clarifying the goal
• defining non-goals
• identifying what must be decided before coding
• deciding whether a subagent is justified
• preparing the task for a scope-alignment discussion
• setting up the handoff to write-task-todo only after alignment

This skill is not for writing code and not for writing docs/todolist.md.

Core rules

1. Prioritize structure before UI

   • think about canonical docs/contracts, data model, types, interfaces, repo/service/runtime boundaries before UI details

2. Prefer explicit boundaries

   • say what is in scope and what is not
   • surface ambiguity instead of silently choosing

3. Use subagents selectively

   • default is local analysis
   • use an xhigh explorer subagent only when the task is cross-layer, ambiguous, high-risk, or likely to benefit from an independent architectural read
   • if you use a subagent, give it a narrow question; do not outsource the entire solution

4. Do not create a canonical doc yet unless the concept is already clearly stable and long-lived

   • early definitions belong in analysis/todo first

5. Every analysis should end with an alignment state:

   • ready for alignment discussion
   • ready for write-task-todo after confirmation
   • or blocked on a single clarification

Required output

Produce a brief with these sections:

## Analysis Brief

### Goal

### Product Boundary

### Scope

### Non-goals

### Canonical-Doc Impact

### Data / Type / Interface First

### Layer Impact

### Risks / Ambiguities

### Need Subagent?

### Test Strategy

### Alignment Questions

### Ready for Todo?

Section guidance

Goal

• one concise sentence

Product Boundary

• say whether the center of gravity is product, platform, or both

Scope

• list what this task must accomplish

Non-goals

• list what this task must not expand into

Canonical-Doc Impact

• identify whether an existing canonical doc already governs this area
• in Formax, prefer checking docs/contracts/*, docs/frontend/*, docs/environment-variables.md, CODEMAP.md, and package-local README deep dives
• if yes, say which doc(s) govern the area
• if not, say whether this task is likely to need a new canonical doc later

Data / Type / Interface First

• identify the definitions that should be settled before implementation
• examples:
  • payload shape
  • DTOs
  • repo interfaces
  • service boundaries
  • route contracts
  • surface/view state

Layer Impact

• name affected layers as applicable:
  • core
  • contracts
  • db
  • app
  • routes
  • schema
  • repo
  • service
  • runtime
  • ui

Risks / Ambiguities

• call out the likely failure modes or places where the task could go structurally wrong
• in Formax, explicitly consider parity drift, transcript/reset semantics, prompt/tool exposure drift, and thread/runtime state ownership when relevant

Need Subagent?

• answer yes or no
• if yes, explain exactly what question the subagent should investigate

Test Strategy

• identify what should be framed by tests first
• prefer focused tests over blanket integration-first thinking
• match Formax's repo guidance: targeted tests first, no coverage runs, protect user-visible behavior and runtime semantics

Alignment Questions

• list the decisions or tradeoffs that should be explicitly confirmed before writing docs/todolist.md
• if there are no meaningful open questions, say so directly

Ready for Todo?

• answer whether the task should proceed into write-task-todo
• default to no if important scope, boundary, or semantics questions are still open

Handoff rule

Do not treat this skill as an automatic handoff to write-task-todo.

The normal sequence is:

1. produce the Analysis Brief
2. discuss and align the analysis with the user
3. only then hand off to write-task-todo

If the task is non-trivial and the analysis is already aligned, hand off to write-task-todo.

If the task is trivial, explicitly say that a structured todo is not needed.