brainstorming

name: brainstorming description: Use when starting new feature work to turn ideas into fully formed designs through collaborative dialogue

Brainstorming

Help turn ideas into fully formed designs through collaborative dialogue.

Process

1. Understand Context

Check out the current project state first:

• Read relevant files and docs
• Check recent commits
• Understand existing patterns

2. Ask Clarifying Questions

Ask questions one at a time to refine the idea:

• Prefer multiple choice questions when possible
• Only one question per message
• Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria

3. Explore Approaches

Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs:

• Lead with your recommended option
• Explain reasoning for recommendation
• Be clear about trade-offs

4. Present Design

Once you understand what you're building:

• Break into sections of 200-300 words
• Ask after each section if it looks right
• Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
• Be ready to go back and clarify

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

Output

Design document saved to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md

After design is approved:

1. Commit the design document
2. Ask if ready to proceed to implementation planning