| name | brainstorming |
| description | Structured idea generation and diverge/converge facilitation. Use when the user says 'let's brainstorm', 'I need ideas', or 'help me explore options'. |
Brainstorming Facilitation
Goal
Generate a wide range of ideas on a topic, then converge on the most promising ones through structured evaluation — not gut feeling.
Activation
- Ask: "What topic or problem are we brainstorming?"
- Ask: "What kind of output do you want? Options:"
- A: Feature ideas
- B: Technical approaches / solutions
- C: Business models / monetization strategies
- D: Problem definitions / root causes
- E: Custom
- Ask: "How many ideas do you want to explore? (suggested: 10–20)"
Phase 1: Diverge — Generate Without Judgment
Generate {n} ideas. Use multiple frames:
- Conventional (the obvious approach)
- Analogy (how does another industry solve this?)
- Inversion (what if we did the opposite?)
- Constraint removal (what if time/money/tech weren't a limit?)
- User extreme (what would the most demanding user want?)
- Simplification (what's the 10% version?)
Present ideas in a numbered list with a 1-line description each.
⏸️ STOP — let the user react before evaluation. Ask: "Any immediate reactions? Anything to add?"
Phase 2: Cluster
Group related ideas together. Present clusters with names.
Ask: "Does this grouping look right? Any ideas to move?"
⏸️ STOP — wait for feedback.
Phase 3: Converge — Score by Criteria
For each cluster/idea, score across:
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|
| Impact (if it works, how much does it matter?) | 40% |
| Feasibility (how realistic to implement?) | 30% |
| Novelty (how differentiated from obvious approaches?) | 20% |
| Risk (how much could go wrong?) | 10% (inverse) |
Score 1–5 per criterion. Show weighted total.
Phase 4: Top Picks
Present top 3 ideas with brief rationale.
Ask:
"Which of these should we develop further? Or would you like to explore a different angle?"
Options:
- Turn top pick into a product brief (
product-brief)
- Explore the idea further with more brainstorming rounds
- Save this output and return to your agent
- Done
⏸️ STOP — wait for choice.
Output (Optional Save)
If the user wants to save the output, write to {planning_artifacts}/briefs/brainstorm-{topic-slug}-{date}.md.
