brainstorming

name: brainstorming description: Use when creating or developing, before writing code or implementation plans - refines rough ideas into fully-formed designs through collaborative questioning, alternative exploration, and incremental validation. Don't use during clear 'mechanical' processes

Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs

Overview

Help turn ideas into fully formed designs through natural collaborative dialogue, then transition smoothly into implementation.

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, checking after each section whether it looks right so far.

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
• Use multiple choice questions - easier to answer, keeps momentum
• 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

When the design is validated, ask: "Ready to plan the implementation?"

If yes, transition to planning:

1. Create an epic bead with the design decisions:

   bd create --title="[Feature name]" --type=epic --priority=2 \
     --design="[Summarize key design decisions from brainstorm]"
   

2. Create child beads for meaningful chunks (3-7 per feature):

   bd create --title="[Chunk description]" --type=task --priority=2
   bd dep add <child-id> <epic-id>  # Child depends on epic
   

   Each chunk should be:

   • A logical commit point
   • Something an agent could pick up and make progress on independently
   • Not too granular (not "add semicolon") or too broad (not "implement everything")

3. Determine execution strategy and explain it:

   • Parallel subagents - If beads are independent, spin up subagents
   • Sequential - If beads have dependencies, work through them in order
   • Fresh orchestrator - If context is limited, provide handoff prompt

   Say what you're doing and why. Offer ripcord: "Say 'stop' if you want to change approach."

4. Start implementation or provide handoff prompt:

   If continuing in this session:

   • Mark the first ready bead as in_progress
   • Begin implementation

   If handing off (context low, user preference, or parallel orchestration needed):

   Continue implementing beads under epic beads-xxx.
   Enter [orchestrator/implementor] mode.
   
   Key decisions from brainstorm:
   - [Decision 1]
   - [Decision 2]
   

Key Principles

• One question at a time - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions
• Multiple choice preferred - Easier to answer than open-ended
• 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
• Beads, not markdown - Track work in beads, not committed plan files
• Smooth handoffs - Auto-continue or provide ready-to-use prompt