complexity-assessmentlisted

# Complexity Assessment ## Overview Every task has a complexity tier that determines how much planning, review, and testing it requires. Assess complexity before starting work, not after discovering it mid-implementation. Underestimating complexity causes missed edge cases, incomplete implementations, and rework. Overestimating causes over-engineering. This skill provides an objective scoring method. ## When NOT to Use Skip for tasks the user has already scoped (e.g., "just fix this typo") or when the tier is explicitly set. ## The Iron Law ``` NO WORK STARTS WITHOUT A TIER ASSESSMENT ``` Tasks that skip complexity assessment often start with the wrong workflow tier — a COMPLEX task runs through SIMPLE steps and produces incomplete results, or a SIMPLE task gets buried under unnecessary architect reviews and planning overhead. The 30-second assessment saves hours of wasted effort by matching the workflow's depth to the task's actual scope. Skipping assessment is the slowest path — you discover complexity through failure instead of scoring. Two minutes of scoring prevents hours of rework. ## The Process ### Step 1: Identify the 5 Dimensions Score each dimension from 1 (low) to 3 (high). #### Dimension 1: Scope How much code changes? | Score | Criteria | | ----- | --------------------------------------------------- | | 1 | Single file or function. Localized change. | | 2 | Multiple files in one module. O