Brainstorming
Overview
Turn rough ideas into fully formed designs and specs through natural collaborative dialogue. Focus on understanding the "why" and "how" before jumping into the "what".
The Process
- Understanding Intent
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Ask one question at a time to refine the idea.
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Focus on purpose, constraints, and success criteria.
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Prefer multiple choice or specific options to reduce cognitive load.
- Exploring Approaches
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Propose 2-3 different approaches with clear trade-offs.
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Recommend one approach and explain why it's the best fit for the context.
- Presenting the Design
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Present the design in small sections (200-300 words).
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Validate each section with the user before moving to the next.
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Cover architecture, components, data flow, and testing strategy.
Key Principles
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One Question at a Time: Don't overwhelm the user.
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Incremental Validation: Get feedback at every step.
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Ruthless YAGNI: Focus only on what is necessary.
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Socratic Refinement: Use questions to tease out the best design.
After the Design
Once the design is validated:
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Document it in docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md .
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Commit the design document.
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Ask: "Ready to move to the planning phase?"
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Transition to the planning skill to break the design into actionable tasks.