Top-level orchestrator for complete initiative decomposition from scope to User Stories through Epic and Story coordinators.
Overview
What This Skill Does
Coordinates the complete decomposition pipeline for new initiatives:
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Auto-discovers Team ID from kanban_board.md
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Phase 1: Discovery (Team ID)
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Phase 2: Epic Decomposition (delegates to ln-210-epic-coordinator)
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Phase 3: Story Decomposition Loop (delegates to ln-220-story-coordinator per Epic, sequential)
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Phase 4: Summary (total counts + next steps)
When to Use This Skill
This skill should be used when:
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Start new initiative requiring full decomposition (scope → Epics → Stories)
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Automate Epic + Story creation in single workflow
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Prefer full pipeline over manual step-by-step invocation
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Time-efficient approach for new projects (2-3 hours end-to-end)
Alternative: For granular control, invoke coordinators manually:
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ln-210-epic-coordinator - CREATE/REPLAN Epics
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ln-220-story-coordinator - CREATE/REPLAN Stories (once per Epic)
When NOT to Use
Do NOT use if:
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Initiative already has Epics → Use ln-210-epic-coordinator REPLAN mode instead
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Need to replan existing Stories → Use ln-220-story-coordinator REPLAN mode per Epic
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Only need Epic creation → Use ln-210-epic-coordinator directly
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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:
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✅ Discovers context (Team ID)
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✅ Makes routing decisions (which coordinator to invoke)
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✅ Delegates all work via Skill tool (ln-210, ln-220)
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✅ Manages workflow state (Epic creation → Story loop)
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❌ Does NOT research project docs (ln-210 does this)
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❌ Does NOT generate Epic/Story documents (ln-210/ln-220 do this)
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❌ Does NOT create Linear issues (coordinators do this)
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❌ Does NOT prompt user (coordinators handle all user interaction)
Coordinators:
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ln-210-epic-coordinator: Creates 3-7 Epics (Epic 0 for Infrastructure if applicable, Epic 1-N for business domains)
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ln-220-story-coordinator: Creates 5-10 Stories per Epic (with standards research via ln-001)
Sequential Story Decomposition
CRITICAL CONSTRAINT: Epic N Stories MUST complete before Epic N+1 starts.
Why sequential?
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ln-220-story-coordinator includes user interaction (Story preview confirmation)
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Interactive dialog cannot be parallelized (user must review each Epic's Stories)
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Ensures Epic N Stories are approved and created before starting Epic N+1
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:
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IF Infrastructure Epic exists → Epic 0 (Infrastructure), Epic 1-N (business domains)
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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 Linear 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:
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Team ID exists in kanban_board.md
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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.
Delegate to ln-210-epic-coordinator:
🔄 [ORCHESTRATOR] Phase 2: Delegating Epic creation to ln-210-epic-coordinator
Skill(skill: "ln-210-epic-coordinator")
ln-210-epic-coordinator will:
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Phase 1: Research project docs (requirements.md, architecture.md, tech_stack.md)
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Phase 2: Auto-propose domains + Infrastructure Epic (Epic 0) → User confirms domain list
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Phase 3: Build IDEAL Epic plan (Epic 0-N)
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Phase 5a: Auto-extract Q1-Q4 from docs → Generate ALL Epic documents → Show batch preview → User confirms → Create all Epics
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Return: Epic URLs + summary
After completion: Epics created in Linear, 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 (sequential processing).
Sequential Loop Logic:
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
Invocation per Epic:
🔄 [ORCHESTRATOR] Phase 3: Delegating Story creation for Epic N to ln-220-story-coordinator
Skill(skill: "ln-220-story-coordinator", epic_number="Epic N")
ln-220-story-coordinator will (per Epic):
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Phase 1: Auto-extract Q1-Q6 from Epic + Fallback search (requirements.md, tech_stack.md)
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Phase 2: Research standards via ln-001-standards-researcher (auto)
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Phase 3: Build IDEAL Story plan (5-10 Stories)
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Phase 4a: Generate ALL Story documents → Show preview → User confirms → Create all Stories
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Return: Story URLs + summary
Sequential constraint explanation:
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ln-220 includes user interaction (Story preview confirmation)
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Cannot parallelize - user must review each Epic's Stories sequentially
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Epic N Stories approved → Epic N+1 Stories generated
After each Epic: Stories created in Linear, 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: Summary (pending)
Mark each as in_progress when starting, completed when coordinator returns success.
Phase 4: Summary and Next Steps
Objective: Provide complete decomposition overview.
🔄 [ORCHESTRATOR] Phase 4: 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)
- Location: docs/tasks/kanban_board.md
Next Steps:
1. Run ln-310-story-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
Critical Rules
1. Pure Orchestrator Pattern
Orchestrator responsibilities:
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✅ Discovery (Team ID)
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✅ Routing decisions (which coordinator to invoke, when)
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✅ Sequential loop management (Epic 0 → Epic 1 → ... → Epic N)
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✅ Summary aggregation (count Epics, Stories)
Coordinator responsibilities (NOT orchestrator):
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❌ Research project docs → ln-210
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❌ Auto-extract Epic/Story info → ln-210/ln-220
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❌ Generate Epic/Story documents → ln-210/ln-220
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❌ Create Linear issues → ln-210/ln-220
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❌ User interaction (confirmations) → ln-210/ln-220
2. Sequential Story Decomposition
HARD RULE: Epic N Stories MUST complete before Epic N+1 starts.
Rationale: ln-220 includes user interaction (Story preview confirmation). Interactive dialog cannot be parallelized.
Example: 6 Epics → 6 sequential ln-220 invocations (Epic 0 → Epic 1 → ... → Epic 5)
3. No User Prompts at Orchestrator Level
Orchestrator does NOT prompt user:
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❌ NO "Proceed with decomposition?" confirmation (redundant - coordinators already confirm)
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❌ NO time estimates (misleading - actual time varies)
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❌ NO Epic/Story previews (coordinators handle this)
All user interaction delegated to coordinators:
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ln-210 Phase 2: Domain approval (USER CONTROL POINT 1)
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ln-210 Phase 5a: Epic batch preview (USER CONTROL POINT 2)
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ln-220 Phase 4a: Story preview per Epic (USER CONTROL POINT 3, N times)
4. Epic 0 for Infrastructure
Reserved number: Epic 0 is reserved for Infrastructure Epic.
Decision point: ln-210-epic-coordinator Phase 1 Step 3 automatically determines if Infrastructure Epic needed.
Numbering: Epic 0 (if Infrastructure), Epic 1-N (business domains)
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
✅ 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)
✅ Summary Provided (Phase 4):
Total counts displayed (Epics, Stories, breakdown per Epic) kanban_board.md location shown Next steps provided (validation, task creation)
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)
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ln-210-epic-coordinator (Phase 2) - CREATE mode (batch Epic creation with batch preview)
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ln-220-story-coordinator (Phase 3, sequential loop) - CREATE mode per Epic (Story creation with preview)
Downstream
After ln-200-scope-decomposer completes:
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ln-310-story-validator - validates all created Stories before task creation
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ln-400-story-executor - processes each Story (tasks → execution → Done)
OR ln-300-task-coordinator - creates tasks manually for each Story
Best Practices
Orchestrator Responsibilities
DO:
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✅ Auto-discover Team ID
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✅ Delegate to coordinators
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✅ Manage sequential loop (Epic 0 → Epic 1 → ... → Epic N)
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✅ Aggregate summary (count Epics, Stories)
DON'T:
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❌ Research project docs (ln-210 does this)
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❌ Generate documents (coordinators do this)
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❌ Create Linear issues (coordinators do this)
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❌ Prompt user (coordinators handle all interaction)
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.
Sequential Processing
Epic creation first: Phase 2 creates ALL Epics before Phase 3 starts (ensures Epic IDs available).
Story creation sequential: Phase 3 processes Epics one-by-one (Epic N Stories → Epic N+1 Stories).
Rationale: User interaction in ln-220 requires sequential processing (cannot parallelize confirmations).
Time Estimates
Realistic estimate: 2-3 hours for full decomposition (6 Epics × 7 Stories avg = 42 Stories).
Breakdown:
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Phase 2 (Epic creation): 30-45 min (batch preview reduces time)
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Phase 3 (Story creation): 1.5-2 hours (6 Epics × 15-20 min per Epic)
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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:
- Phase 1: Discovery
Team ID loaded from kanban_board.md
- Phase 2: Epic Decomposition
Invoke ln-210-epic-coordinator
- ln-210 creates 6 Epics:
Epic 11 (Infrastructure Epic 0 pattern)
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Epic 12-16 (business domains)
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Output: 6 Epic URLs
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Phase 3: Story Decomposition Loop (Sequential)
Epic 11: Invoke ln-220 → 6 Stories (US017-US022)
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Epic 12: Invoke ln-220 → 7 Stories (US023-US029)
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Epic 13: Invoke ln-220 → 5 Stories (US030-US034)
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Epic 14: Invoke ln-220 → 6 Stories (US035-US040)
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Epic 15: Invoke ln-220 → 7 Stories (US041-US047)
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Epic 16: Invoke ln-220 → 5 Stories (US048-US052)
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Output: 36 Stories total
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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-story-validator to validate all Stories
2. Use ln-400-story-executor to process each Story (tasks → execution → Done)
Result: 6 Epics + 36 Stories created through full pipeline automation
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 (BREAKING: Complete rewrite following ln-400 Pure Orchestrator Pattern. Removed Phase 1 User Confirmation. Removed false "AUTOMATIC" claims. Added Epic 0 for Infrastructure. Added Sequential Story Decomposition explanation. Added Critical Rules section. Realistic time estimates (2-3h). Removed REPLAN mode (not applicable to top orchestrator - use ln-210/ln-220 REPLAN modes instead).) Last Updated: 2025-11-20