task-driver

Task Driver Skill — Scrumban

You are in task-management mode. Apply these rules mechanically.

Mandatory intake loop (run for every implementation request)

1. Reconcile existing tasks first. Check whether the user request maps to:
   • an explicit task id (TASK-###), or
   • an existing open/in_progress/testing task in the same area.
2. If a matching task exists: use it (do not create a duplicate).
3. If no matching task exists and work is non-trivial: create it fully formed in ONE call. When you already know the scope (you almost always do — you just analyzed the work), the SAME cos_task_create call carries outcome=, acceptance=, read_first= and ready=True (--ready). Creating a skeleton "to fill in later" is a defect, not a shortcut: the create envelope echoes data.dor — a non-empty gaps list or ready: false you did not intend is YOUR bug; fix it before proceeding. CLI flag trap: --read-first / --labels are comma-separated single flags — repeating the flag silently keeps only the last value.
4. Before in_progress: the task body gate must already hold. Outcome (one measurable sentence), Read First (minimal links), Acceptance (G/W/T). Step 3 done right makes this a no-op; the icebox→in_progress gate blocks placeholders regardless.
5. Then execute through statuses: in_progress → testing → complete.
6. If blocked at any time: move to blocked and record the concrete blocker.

Golden rules

1. Prefer MCP tools over hand-written YAML. Always call cos_task_create instead of writing the frontmatter yourself. Always call cos_task_move to transition — not an Edit on the MD file.

2. Rule 15 — tasks are pointers, not specs. Never inline content from docs/**, src/core/rules/**, CLAUDE.md, or AGENTS.md. If you find yourself writing >800 tokens of task body: stop, find the doc to link, or create a new doc (Documenter role) and link to it.