| name | brainstorming |
| description | Use before any creative work — creating features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying behavior. Explores intent, requirements, and design before implementation. |
Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs
Overview
Turn ideas into fully formed designs through collaborative dialogue. Understand first, explore options, then present the design in digestible sections.
The Process
Understanding the idea:
- Check current project state first (files, docs, recent commits)
- Ask questions one at a time
- Prefer multiple choice when possible
- Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria
Exploring approaches:
- Propose 2-3 approaches with trade-offs
- Lead with your recommendation and reasoning
Presenting the design:
- Once you understand what you're building, present the design
- Break into sections of 200-300 words
- Ask after each section whether it looks right
- Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
- Be ready to go back and revise
After the Design
Documentation:
- Write validated design to
docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md
- Commit the design document
Implementation (if continuing):
- Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?"
- Use the
git-workflow skill to create an isolated workspace
- Use the
planning skill to create a detailed implementation plan
Key Principles
- One question at a time — don't overwhelm
- Multiple choice preferred — easier than open-ended
- YAGNI ruthlessly — remove unnecessary features
- Explore alternatives — always propose 2-3 approaches
- Incremental validation — present in sections, validate each
