| name | brainstorming |
| description | Structured ideation for article topics, feature ideas, or strategic directions. Generates options with evaluation criteria, selects the strongest candidate, and produces a brief for handoff. Used by CEO (strategy), EIC (content topics), and CTO (technical solutions). |
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is structured idea generation — not a free-form dump, but a disciplined process that ends with a concrete, evaluated recommendation.
When to Use
- CEO: evaluating 3-month content strategy directions
- EIC: choosing between competing article topic ideas
- CTO: selecting approach for a technical feature or component
- Any agent with a decision that has genuine alternatives
Process
Step 1: Define the Question
State the decision clearly in one sentence. Examples:
- "Which topic should the Writer tackle next quarter to maximize technical authority?"
- "What approach should Frontend Engineer use for the search component redesign?"
- "Which 3 article ideas from News Researcher's backlog have the highest traffic potential?"
A poorly defined question produces poor brainstorming. Restate if needed.
Step 2: Generate Options
Produce 3–6 distinct options. For each:
- Name: one clear label
- Core idea: 2–3 sentences on what this option is
- Strengths: what makes it compelling
- Weaknesses: honest trade-offs or risks
- Effort: Low / Medium / High (for content: writing complexity; for tech: implementation complexity)
Step 3: Evaluate Against Criteria
Score each option against the relevant criteria:
For content topics:
- Audience fit (does our technical-professional audience want this?)
- Search demand (can we realistically rank or be cited by AI search?)
- Uniqueness (not covered adequately by existing artstroy.net articles)
- Timeliness (evergreen vs. trend-dependent)
- Author expertise (does our team have first-hand experience to write authoritatively?)
For technical decisions:
- Fits Astro 5 + React 19 patterns
- Maintainable by Frontend Engineer in 6 months
- Performance impact on Core Web Vitals
- No new dependencies unless genuinely necessary
Step 4: Recommend
State the recommendation clearly:
**Recommendation:** {Option name}
**Rationale:** {2–3 sentences explaining why this option wins on the criteria that matter most}
**Risk to watch:** {the most likely failure mode and how to mitigate it}
Step 5: Hand Off
The output of brainstorming is a brief — a document that tells the receiving agent what to do next without requiring them to re-run the brainstorming process.
For EIC: a topic brief (use topic-brief skill for format)
For CTO: a technical spec (use writing-plans skill to flesh out)
For CEO: a strategy memo in MEMORY.md
Output Length
Scale to the decision:
- Low-stakes topic choice → 1 page
- Major architectural decision → 3 pages max
More words do not mean better brainstorming. A sharp 3-option comparison beats a rambling 10-option list.
