Phase-Based Task Delegation in Claude Code

Introduction

You ask Claude Code to build a feature. It starts writing code, editing files, running commands. Ten minutes later, it's still going. The output is getting longer and longer. Eventually, it produces something that kind of works but has issues scattered throughout. Some files are incomplete. Others have inconsistent patterns. The feature exists, but it needs significant cleanup.

This happens because Claude Code tried to do too much at once. When you give Claude a large, complex task, it attempts to hold the entire problem in its context simultaneously. As the task grows, context fills up. Important details get crowded out. Quality degrades.

Phase-based delegation solves this by breaking large tasks into discrete, manageable chunks. Instead of asking Claude to "build the entire feature," you ask it to complete one specific phase, validate the result, then move to the next phase. Each phase gets Claude's full attention and fresh context.

The result is cleaner code, fewer errors, easier review, and a workflow you can actually manage. This article shows you exactly how to implement it.

The Problem with Big Tasks

When you give Claude Code a complex task, several problems emerge. Understanding these problems helps you appreciate why phases work so much better.

Claude Tries to Do Everything at Once

Ask Claude to "build a contact form with validation, submission handling, and backend processing," and it will attempt to create all of these simultaneously. It jumps between files, switching context from HTML to JavaScript to Cloud Functions. Each switch loses some context about what came before.

By the time Claude finishes the backend, it may have forgotten specific decisions made in the HTML structure. The result is code that technically works but lacks coherence. The validation logic doesn't quite match the form fields. The backend expects different data than the frontend sends.

Context Overload

Claude has a finite context window. Everything it needs to remember, your instructions, the files it's read, the code it's written, must fit in this window. Large tasks consume enormous amounts of context.

When context fills up, older information gets compressed or dropped. Your initial instructions become less salient. Earlier decisions get forgotten. Claude starts making choices that contradict what it decided ten minutes ago.

Task: "Build a user dashboard with profile, settings, and activity log"

Minutes 0-5:   Claude reads files, plans approach
Minutes 5-10:  Creates profile section (high quality)
Minutes 10-15: Creates settings section (good quality)
Minutes 15-20: Creates activity log (declining quality)
Minutes 20-25: Goes back to fix profile (introduces bugs)
Minutes 25-30: Context saturated, inconsistent outputs

Lost Focus

Big tasks require Claude to maintain focus across many concerns simultaneously. It's thinking about styling while writing logic. It's thinking about error handling while creating structure. This divided attention produces mediocre results across all areas instead of excellent results in any area.

When you review the output, you find issues everywhere. The styling almost works. The logic mostly functions. The error handling partially exists. Nothing is quite complete because nothing got full attention.

Difficult Review

A big task produces a big output. Reviewing hundreds of lines of changes across multiple files is overwhelming. Where do you even start? How do you verify that the authentication logic is correct while also checking that the CSS is responsive while also confirming the database queries are efficient?

Most developers give up on thorough review. They spot-check a few things, hope for the best, and move on. Bugs slip through. Technical debt accumulates. The codebase gradually degrades.

What Is Phase-Based Delegation?

Phase-based delegation breaks complex work into discrete phases. Each phase has a single focus, a clear deliverable, and defined boundaries. You complete one phase entirely before starting the next. Between phases, you validate the work and confirm you're ready to proceed.

Discrete Phases with Single Focus

A phase is not "build part of the feature." A phase is "create the HTML structure for the form" or "implement the validation logic" or "add error handling to the submission flow." Each phase has one concern and one concern only.

This focus allows Claude to bring its full attention to a narrow problem. Instead of thinking about HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and backend simultaneously, Claude thinks only about HTML structure. It can consider semantic markup, accessibility, and form organization without being distracted by validation logic or API contracts.

Complete One Before Starting Next

Phases are sequential, not parallel. You don't start Phase 2 while Phase 1 is in progress. This sequencing ensures that each phase builds on completed, validated work.

When you start the CSS phase, the HTML structure already exists and has been verified. The CSS phase doesn't need to guess what elements will exist or worry about structural changes. It works with a stable foundation.

Validate Between Phases

The gap between phases is where you verify quality. After completing the HTML phase, you review the markup. Is it semantic? Accessible? Well-organized? Does it match your design? Only after confirming the phase is complete do you move forward.

This validation catches issues early when they're cheap to fix. A structural problem in your HTML is easy to address in Phase 1. It's much harder to fix in Phase 4 after CSS, JavaScript, and backend code all depend on that structure.

BIG TASK APPROACH:
"Build a contact form with validation and backend"
  -> Claude does everything at once
  -> 30 minutes of continuous work
  -> 500 lines of changes to review
  -> Bugs scattered throughout
  -> Hard to pinpoint issues

PHASE-BASED APPROACH:
Phase 1: "Create contact form HTML structure"
  -> 5 minutes, 50 lines, verify structure
Phase 2: "Add CSS styling to the form"
  -> 5 minutes, 60 lines, verify design
Phase 3: "Implement form validation"
  -> 5 minutes, 40 lines, verify logic
Phase 4: "Add submission handling"
  -> 5 minutes, 50 lines, verify flow
Phase 5: "Create backend endpoint"
  -> 5 minutes, 45 lines, verify API
  -> Each phase reviewed and validated
  -> Issues caught immediately
  -> Clean, coherent result

Example: Building a Landing Page

Let's walk through a concrete example: building a landing page for a SaaS product. This task involves HTML structure, CSS styling, JavaScript interactions, and potentially a backend for form handling. It's the perfect candidate for phase-based delegation.

Phase 1: HTML Structure

The first phase focuses exclusively on HTML. You instruct Claude: "Create index.html with semantic structure for a landing page. Include header with navigation, hero section, features section with 3 feature cards, pricing section with 3 tiers, testimonials section, and footer. Use semantic HTML5 elements. No styling yet."

Claude produces clean HTML with proper document structure, semantic sections, appropriate heading hierarchy, and placeholder content. You review it: Are the sections logically organized? Are the semantic elements correct? Is the heading structure valid? Once verified, Phase 1 is complete.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>ProductName - Tagline</title>
</head>
<body>
  <header>
    <nav>...</nav>
  </header>
  <main>
    <section id="hero">...</section>
    <section id="features">...</section>
    <section id="pricing">...</section>
    <section id="testimonials">...</section>
  </main>
  <footer>...</footer>
</body>
</html>

Phase 2: CSS Styling

With solid HTML in place, Phase 2 addresses styling. You instruct Claude: "Create styles.css with mobile-first responsive design for the existing HTML. Use CSS custom properties for colors and spacing. Implement a 4px spacing scale. Make it responsive at 768px and 1024px breakpoints."

Claude creates a CSS file that targets the existing HTML elements. It's not guessing what elements exist; it's styling what's already there. You review the styling: Does it look good? Is it responsive? Are the design tokens consistent? Once verified, Phase 2 is complete.

Phase 3: JavaScript Interactions

Phase 3 adds behavior. You instruct Claude: "Create scripts.js with smooth scrolling for navigation links, mobile menu toggle, and scroll-triggered animations for feature cards. No form handling yet."

Claude writes JavaScript that interacts with the existing HTML structure. It's not modifying HTML or CSS, just adding behavior. You review the interactions: Does smooth scrolling work? Does the mobile menu toggle correctly? Are animations performant? Once verified, Phase 3 is complete.

Phase 4: Backend (if needed)

If your landing page includes a contact form or email signup, Phase 4 handles the backend. You instruct Claude: "Create a Cloud Function to handle contact form submissions. Validate input, store in Firestore, send notification email. Return appropriate success/error responses."

Claude creates backend code that matches the frontend's expected data format. Because you've already verified the frontend, you know exactly what data the backend will receive. The API contract is clear. Once verified, Phase 4 is complete.

Benefits of Phase-Based Work

Phase-based delegation produces measurably better outcomes across multiple dimensions.

Easier Review

Reviewing 50 lines of HTML is manageable. Reviewing 50 lines of CSS is manageable. Reviewing 50 lines of JavaScript is manageable. Reviewing 250 lines of mixed HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and backend code is overwhelming.

Phases give you bite-sized chunks to review. You can focus completely on whether the HTML is semantic without also evaluating CSS specificity or JavaScript performance. Each review session has a single concern.

Catch Errors Early

A bug in Phase 1 is caught before Phase 2 begins. You don't build CSS on top of broken HTML. You don't write JavaScript that depends on nonexistent DOM elements. You don't create backend endpoints that expect data in the wrong format.

Early catches are cheap catches. Fixing HTML structure in Phase 1 is trivial. Fixing it in Phase 4 after three layers of code depend on that structure is expensive and error-prone.

Clear Progress

With big tasks, progress is opaque. Claude is working, but you don't know if you're 20% done or 80% done. You don't know if things are going well or badly until the end.

Phases give you checkpoints. "Phase 2 of 5 complete" tells you exactly where you are. You can estimate remaining time. You can identify when things are taking longer than expected. You can course-correct early.

Better Context

Each phase starts with fresh context. Claude isn't carrying the weight of all previous decisions; it's focused on the current phase with relevant context for that specific task.

This freshness produces better results. The JavaScript phase doesn't have context pollution from HTML decisions. It has room for JavaScript-specific patterns, libraries, and idioms. The focused context enables deeper expertise.

Natural Pause Points

Life interrupts. Meetings happen. Days end. Big tasks create awkward interruption points where stopping means losing significant context.

Phases create natural pause points. Finish Phase 2, stop for lunch, resume with Phase 3. The completed phases are documented. The next phase is defined. Nothing is lost to interruption.

Metric                  | Big Task | Phased
------------------------|----------|--------
Review time per change  | High     | Low
Bugs found in review    | Few      | Many
Bugs found in prod      | Many     | Few
Rework required         | High     | Low
Consistency             | Low      | High
Developer confidence    | Low      | High

How to Implement Phases

Implementing phase-based delegation requires planning, documentation, and discipline. Here's how to do it effectively.

Define Phases Upfront

Before starting any work, break the task into phases. Each phase should have a single focus, a clear deliverable, and defined boundaries. Write these phases down before you begin.

Good phases are small enough to complete in one focused session (typically 5-15 minutes of Claude work), focused on a single concern (structure, styling, logic, etc.), and have a clear "done" criteria you can verify.

## Task: [Feature Name]

### Phase 1: [Name]
Focus: [Single concern]
Deliverable: [What gets created/modified]
Done when: [Verification criteria]

### Phase 2: [Name]
Focus: [Single concern]
Deliverable: [What gets created/modified]
Done when: [Verification criteria]
Depends on: Phase 1

### Phase 3: [Name]
...

Document in COORDINATION.md

Track phases in a coordination file that persists across sessions. This file becomes the source of truth for in-progress work. When you return to a task, you read COORDINATION.md to understand where you left off.

## Active Work

### Landing Page - IN PROGRESS
**Total Phases:** 4
**Current Phase:** 2 of 4

| Phase | Description           | Status      |
|-------|-----------------------|-------------|
| 1     | HTML structure        | COMPLETE    |
| 2     | CSS styling           | IN PROGRESS |
| 3     | JavaScript interactions| PENDING     |
| 4     | Form backend          | PENDING     |

**Phase 2 Notes:**
- Using mobile-first approach
- Custom properties defined in :root
- Breakpoints at 768px and 1024px

**Next Action:** Complete Phase 2 styling, then validate responsive behavior.

Validate Each Phase

Validation is not optional. After each phase completes, take time to verify the work. This doesn't need to be exhaustive testing. It's a sanity check that the phase delivered what was expected.

For HTML phases, check semantic structure, heading hierarchy, and accessibility. For CSS phases, check responsive behavior and visual appearance. For JavaScript phases, check that interactions work correctly. For backend phases, check that endpoints return expected data.

One Phase per Session (for complex tasks)

For particularly complex tasks, consider limiting yourself to one phase per Claude session. This ensures maximum context freshness and creates natural review points.

After completing a phase, update COORDINATION.md, close the session, review the work, then start a fresh session for the next phase. This may feel slower, but it produces significantly higher quality results.

When to Use Phases

Not every task needs phases. Here's how to decide when phase-based delegation is appropriate.

Complex Features

Any feature that touches multiple files, multiple concerns, or multiple technologies benefits from phases. If your mental model of the task has multiple distinct steps, those steps probably should be phases.

Examples: user authentication, payment integration, dashboard creation, API implementations, form systems with validation and backend handling.

Multi-File Changes

When a task requires modifying more than 2-3 files, phases help manage the complexity. Each phase can focus on a subset of files or a single layer of the stack.

Examples: refactoring that touches multiple components, adding a feature that needs frontend and backend changes, implementing a design that requires HTML, CSS, and JavaScript updates.

Cross-Platform Work

When you're building the same feature for multiple platforms (iOS and web, for example), phases ensure each platform gets proper attention. Don't try to build for both platforms simultaneously.

Example phases: "Phase 1: Implement feature on web frontend. Phase 2: Implement feature on iOS. Phase 3: Create shared backend. Phase 4: Test cross-platform data consistency."

Tasks Over 30 Minutes

If you estimate a task will take more than 30 minutes of Claude work, it should probably be phased. This is where context overload becomes a real problem, and phasing pays off significantly.

A 2-hour task done as one big chunk will have quality problems in the second hour. The same task done as 4-6 phases will maintain quality throughout.

When NOT to Use Phases

Skip phases for small, focused tasks that Claude can complete in a few minutes. Bug fixes in a single file, small refactors, documentation updates, and quick utilities don't need the overhead of formal phases.

The rule of thumb: if you can review all the changes in under two minutes, phases are probably overkill.

USE PHASES when:
- Task involves 3+ files
- Task crosses concerns (HTML + JS + backend)
- Task estimated at 30+ minutes
- Task spans platforms
- You can't hold the whole task in your head

SKIP PHASES when:
- Single file change
- Single concern (just CSS, just logic)
- Estimated under 10 minutes
- Simple bug fix
- Quick refactor

The Phase Handoff Protocol

Handoff between phases requires a specific protocol to maintain continuity and quality. This protocol ensures nothing falls through the cracks.

Update COORDINATION.md

After completing a phase, immediately update COORDINATION.md. Mark the current phase as COMPLETE. Add any notes about decisions made or issues encountered. Identify the next phase and any prerequisites.

This update is your insurance policy. If you get interrupted, if you forget what you were doing, if you return days later, COORDINATION.md tells you exactly where things stand.

Report Completion

Document what the phase accomplished. This isn't just for tracking. It's for understanding. When you start the next phase, you need to know what exists and what decisions were made.

PHASE 2 COMPLETE

Created:
- styles.css with mobile-first responsive design
- CSS custom properties for colors and spacing
- Responsive breakpoints at 768px and 1024px

Decisions made:
- Used flexbox for layout (not grid) for browser support
- Chose 4px spacing scale
- Made hero section full viewport height on desktop

Files modified:
- /styles.css (new file, 180 lines)
- /index.html (added stylesheet link)

Ready for Phase 3: JavaScript interactions

Start Fresh Session

For complex multi-phase tasks, start a new Claude session between phases. This gives you maximum context for the new phase and prevents accumulated context from previous phases from causing confusion.

In the new session, tell Claude to read COORDINATION.md and continue with the next phase. Claude will pick up where you left off with fresh context focused on the current phase.

Validate Before Proceeding

Before starting a new phase, verify the previous phase is truly complete. Check the deliverables. Test the functionality. Confirm you're building on solid ground.

If you find issues during validation, fix them before moving forward. It's tempting to "fix it later," but later never comes, and each subsequent phase builds on the flawed foundation.

Conclusion: Phases Are the Professional Approach

Phase-based delegation isn't just a technique. It's the professional approach to AI-assisted development. It acknowledges that complex work requires focused attention, that context has limits, and that quality comes from discipline, not speed.

When you work in phases, you're not fighting against Claude's limitations. You're working with them. You're providing the structure that enables Claude to do its best work. You're creating the checkpoints that catch issues early. You're building the documentation that maintains continuity.

The developers who get the best results from Claude Code aren't the ones who write the longest prompts. They're the ones who break work into phases, validate between phases, and maintain discipline throughout the process.

Claude Architect implements phase-based delegation automatically. The PM agent breaks complex requests into phases. It tracks progress in COORDINATION.md. It validates work between phases. It ensures specialists work on focused tasks instead of sprawling features. The entire phase workflow is built into the system.

You don't have to remember to break tasks into phases. You don't have to manually track progress. You don't have to enforce the protocol yourself. Claude Architect handles it, letting you focus on what matters: building great software.