isc

Decompose $ARGUMENTS into ISC (Identifiable, Specific, Verifiable Criteria) before executing.

ISC is the foundation of the /algorithm skill's seven-phase methodology. It can also be used standalone for any task that benefits from upfront decomposition.

Why

Most incomplete work comes from latching onto one part of a request and missing the rest. ISC forces you to read the entire request — including negatives and implied requirements — and turn it into a checklist you can verify.

Step 1: Reverse Engineer the Request

Read everything. Extract five categories:

1. Explicit wants — what was directly asked for
2. Implied wants — what's necessary but not stated (e.g., "update the API" implies tests still pass)
3. Explicit not-wanted — what was asked to NOT do, remove, or avoid
4. Implied not-wanted — things that would be unwelcome even though not stated (e.g., don't refactor unrelated code)
5. Gotchas — things likely to go wrong or be forgotten based on the nature of the request

Step 2: Determine Effort Level

Effort	Time budget	ISC range	When
Trivial	<30s	2-4	One-liner fix, typo
Quick	<1min	4-8	Small focused change
Standard	<2min	8-16	Normal request (default)
Extended	<8min	16-32	Multi-file quality work
Advanced	<16min	24-48	Substantial design + implementation
Deep	<32min	40-80	Complex multi-system work
Comprehensive	<120min	64-150	Large-scale, no time pressure

Default to Standard unless the request clearly warrants more.

Step 3: Extract Atomic Criteria

For each requirement, create a criterion that is:

• Identifiable: Can you point to it? A specific file, line, behavior, or output
• Specific: Is there exactly one interpretation? "Looks good" fails. "Renders at 1024px without horizontal scroll" passes
• Verifiable: Can you prove it's done? What tool would you use? What would you see?

The Splitting Test

Apply to EVERY criterion. If any test triggers, split:

1. "And"/"With" test: Does it join two verifiable things? "Update the title and fix the link" → two criteria
2. Independent failure test: Can part A pass while part B fails? → separate criteria
3. Scope word test: Contains "all", "every", "complete", "full"? → enumerate what they actually mean
4. Domain boundary test: Crosses UI/API/data/logic boundaries? → one criterion per boundary

Domain-Specific Decomposition

Split differently depending on what you're working on:

• UI/Visual: One criterion per element, per state, per breakpoint
• Data/API: One per field, per validation rule, per error case, per edge case
• Logic/Flow: One per branch, per transition, per boundary condition
• Content: One per section, per format requirement, per tone requirement
• Infrastructure: One per service, per config change, per permission

Step 4: ISC Count Gate

Count your criteria. If below the effort tier floor, you haven't decomposed enough — go back and re-split.

Effort	Minimum criteria
Trivial	2
Quick	4
Standard	8
Extended	16
Advanced	24
Deep	40
Comprehensive	64

Below floor = re-decompose. You're grouping things that should be separate.

Step 5: Present and Execute

Present criteria as a numbered checklist:

- [ ] ISC-1: [atomic criterion]
- [ ] ISC-2: [atomic criterion]
...

Mark each criterion complete immediately as it passes during execution — don't batch at the end.

Step 6: Verify

After completing the work, verify every criterion with evidence:

• ✅ Verified — with evidence (test output, file content, grep result)
• ❌ Not met — with explanation of what's missing
• ⚠️ Partially met — with detail on what remains

No criterion should be marked complete without evidence from a tool (Read, Bash, Grep, etc.). "I believe it's correct" is not verification.

Example

Request: "Update the README, fix the broken links, and remove references to Chris"

Effort: Quick (4-8 ISC)

Criteria:

• ISC-1: README content updated to reflect current state
• ISC-2: Each link in README resolves (verified per-link)
• ISC-3: No references to "Chris" in README (grep -i chris README.md returns nothing)
• ISC-4: No changes to files other than README.md
• ISC-5: Content unrelated to the update is unchanged (diff shows only targeted changes)

Output Format

The output is the ISC checklist produced in Step 5 — each criterion as a checkable item with its verification command. See the example in Step 5 above.

Related Skills

• /algorithm — ISC decomposition is Phase 1 of the algorithm. Use the full algorithm for execution after defining criteria.
• /scientific-method — when criteria require investigation or experimentation to verify.