Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs (OpenSpec Integration)

Overview

Help turn ideas into fully formed designs through natural collaborative dialogue. This version saves artifacts to OpenSpec change directories and extracts formal specs.

Start by understanding the current project context, then ask questions one at a time to refine the idea. Once you understand what you're building, present the design in small sections (200-300 words), checking after each section whether it looks right so far.

Before Starting

Check for OpenSpec:

ls openspec/config.yaml 2>/dev/null

If OpenSpec is initialized, use this skill. Otherwise, fall back to standard superpowers:brainstorming .

Create the change:

Derive name from the feature being brainstormed

openspec new change <feature-name> --schema superpowers

The Process

Understanding the idea:

• Check out the current project state first (files, docs, recent commits)

• Ask questions one at a time to refine the idea

• Prefer multiple choice questions when possible, but open-ended is fine too

• Only one question per message - if a topic needs more exploration, break it into multiple questions

• Focus on understanding: purpose, constraints, success criteria

Exploring approaches:

• Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs

• Present options conversationally with your recommendation and reasoning

• Lead with your recommended option and explain why

Presenting the design:

• Once you believe you understand what you're building, present the design

• Break it into sections of 200-300 words

• Ask after each section whether it looks right so far

• Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing

• Be ready to go back and clarify if something doesn't make sense

After the Design

Save to OpenSpec (instead of docs/plans/):

• Write the validated design to openspec/changes/<name>/proposal.md

• Commit the design document to git

Extract Formal Specs:

• Review the proposal and identify distinct capabilities

• For each capability, create openspec/changes/<name>/specs/<capability>/spec.md

• Use Given/When/Then format with RFC 2119 keywords (SHALL/MUST/SHOULD/MAY)

• Present specs to user for validation

• Commit specs to git

Check status:

openspec status --change <name> --json

Implementation (if continuing):

• Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?"

• Use superpowers:using-git-worktrees to create isolated workspace

• Use openspec-writing-plans to create detailed implementation plan

Key Principles

• One question at a time - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions

• Multiple choice preferred - Easier to answer than open-ended when possible

• YAGNI ruthlessly - Remove unnecessary features from all designs

• Explore alternatives - Always propose 2-3 approaches before settling

• Incremental validation - Present design in sections, validate each

• Specs are formal - Extract testable requirements, not just prose

• Be flexible - Go back and clarify when something doesn't make sense