Decision Extract Skill

Taxonomy note: This skill provides domain expertise (HOW) for extracting pending decisions from the task queue. See [[TAXONOMY.md]] for the skill/workflow distinction.

Extract pending decisions from your task queue and format them for batch processing in your daily note.

What is a Decision?

A decision is a task that:

• Requires your input/approval but NOT substantive work
• Is blocking other tasks from proceeding
• Can typically be resolved in <5 minutes

Examples:

• RSVP yes/no, approve/reject, go/no-go, choose A vs B
• Tasks waiting on external input (you can report progress, follow up, or cancel)

Not decisions: Write code, research topic, draft document, fix bug

Note on external dependencies: Tasks waiting for others (e.g., "waiting for Elsa's examples") are included because you can still make decisions about them:

• Report progress: "No update yet" / "Received, proceeding"
• Follow up: "Sending reminder"
• Cancel: "No longer needed"

When to Use

• Run /decision-extract when you want to batch-process pending decisions
• The /daily skill includes a decision count summary automatically
• Use when feeling overwhelmed by scattered approval requests

Extraction Logic

Step 1: Query Decision Tasks

Query tasks that are waiting for your input:

# Get waiting tasks assigned to user
waiting_tasks = mcp__pkb__list_tasks(
    status="waiting",
    assignee="nic",
    limit=50
)

# Get review tasks assigned to user
review_tasks = mcp__pkb__list_tasks(
    status="review",
    assignee="nic",
    limit=50
)

Step 2: Filter Non-Decision Types

Exclude high-level planning items that aren't actionable decisions:

EXCLUDED_TYPES = ["project", "epic", "goal"]

decisions = [
    task for task in (waiting_tasks + review_tasks)
    if task.type not in EXCLUDED_TYPES
]

Step 3: Get Blocking Counts

For each decision, determine how many tasks it's blocking:

topology = mcp__pkb__get_task_network()

# Match decision IDs to topology entries to get blocking_count
for decision in decisions:
    entry = find_in_topology(decision.id, topology)
    decision.blocking_count = entry.blocking_count if entry else 0

Step 4: Prioritize

Sort decisions by:

1. blocking_count (descending) - decisions blocking most work first
2. priority (ascending) - P0 before P1 before P2
3. created (ascending) - older decisions first

decisions.sort(key=lambda d: (-d.blocking_count, d.priority, d.created))

Step 5: Classify Priority Tiers

high_priority = [d for d in decisions if d.blocking_count >= 2]
medium_priority = [d for d in decisions if d.blocking_count == 1]
low_priority = [d for d in decisions if d.blocking_count == 0]

Output Format

Generate markdown for the daily note's ## Pending Decisions section:

## Pending Decisions

You have **{total}** decisions pending ({high} high priority).

### High Priority (Blocking Multiple Tasks)

#### D001: {task_title}

- **Task**: `{task_id}`
- **Blocks**: {blocking_count} tasks
- **Context**: {first 200 chars of task body}
- **Created**: {days_ago} days ago

**Decision**: [ ] Approve [ ] Reject [ ] Defer
**Notes**: _________________

---

### Medium Priority (Blocking 1 Task)

#### D002: {task_title}

...

### Low Priority (No Dependencies)

#### D003: {task_title}

...

---

**Instructions**: Mark your decisions above, then run `/decision-apply` to process them.

<!-- decision-metadata
decisions:
  - id: D001
    task_id: {task_id}
    decision: null
    processed: false
  - id: D002
    ...
-->

Integration with Daily Note

Location in Daily Note

Insert the ## Pending Decisions section immediately after ## Focus:

## Focus

[existing focus content]

## Pending Decisions

[generated decision content]

## Task Tree

[existing tree]

Updating Existing Section

If ## Pending Decisions already exists in the daily note:

1. Read existing decisions and their annotations
2. Preserve any user annotations (non-null decisions)
3. Add new decisions not already present
4. Remove decisions that are no longer in waiting/review status

Use Edit tool to update, not Write (preserve surrounding content).

Decision Count for /daily

When /daily runs, include a summary in the Focus section:

## Focus

[priority dashboard]

**Pending Decisions**: {count} ({high_priority} blocking other work)
→ Run `/decision-extract` to review and process

[rest of focus content]

This summary uses the same query logic (Steps 1-3) but only outputs the count, not the full list.

Error Handling

Scenario	Behavior
No decisions found	Output "No pending decisions. Your queue is clear."
Daily note missing	Create minimal daily note with decisions section
Task details unavailable	Include task ID and title only, note "details unavailable"

Example Output

## Pending Decisions

You have **4** decisions pending (2 high priority).

### High Priority (Blocking Multiple Tasks)

#### D001: Approve authentication provider choice

- **Task**: `aops-abc123`
- **Blocks**: 3 tasks (login-ui, session-mgmt, user-tests)
- **Context**: Options are Auth0 vs Cognito. See comparison doc for trade-offs.
- **Created**: 5 days ago

**Decision**: [ ] Auth0 [ ] Cognito [ ] Need more info
**Notes**: _________________

---

#### D002: Sign off on API schema v2

- **Task**: `aops-def456`
- **Blocks**: 2 tasks
- **Context**: Breaking changes from v1. Migration path documented.
- **Created**: 3 days ago

**Decision**: [ ] Approve [ ] Request changes [ ] Defer
**Notes**: _________________

---

### Low Priority (No Dependencies)

#### D003: Review PR #789 - typo fix

- **Task**: `aops-ghi789`
- **Blocks**: 0 tasks
- **Context**: Single character typo in README
- **Created**: 1 day ago

**Decision**: [ ] Approve [ ] Skip
**Notes**: _________________

---

**Instructions**: Mark your decisions above, then run `/decision-apply` to process them.

Related Skills

• /decision-apply - Process annotated decisions and update tasks
• /daily - Includes decision count in morning briefing
• /pull - Pull next task to work on (after decisions are cleared)