| name | design-thinking |
| description | Entry point for the 5-phase design thinking process. Assesses current state
and routes to the appropriate phase skill. Each phase runs in an isolated
agent session and produces a concrete artifact. Phases: understand → define →
ideate → prototype → test. Invoke when starting any non-trivial problem or
creative task.
|
Design Thinking — Entry Point
Using design-thinking to orient the current problem and route to the correct phase.
The 5 Phases
| Phase | Skill | Input | Output |
|---|
| 1. Understand | /understand | Problem description, any available context | docs/dt/context-brief.md |
| 2. Define | /define | context-brief.md | docs/dt/spec.md |
| 3. Ideate | /ideate | spec.md | docs/dt/plan.md |
| 4. Prototype | /prototype | plan.md + spec.md | Working artifact (code, doc, etc.) |
| 5. Test | /test | spec.md + implementation | docs/dt/audit.md |
Artifact Directory
- For repos:
docs/dt/ relative to the repo working directory.
- For vault projects:
vault/Efforts/Projects/<name>/dt/.
Context Isolation Principle
Each phase runs in a new agent session. Only the previous phase's artifact travels forward. This prevents context bleed — the Understand agent does not carry Prototype details, and the Test agent does not carry the Understand agent's raw notes.
The artifact file is the handoff token. When starting a phase, read the artifact from the prior phase before doing anything else.
Entry Procedure
Check docs/dt/ to determine the starting phase:
- No
dt/ directory, or empty — start at Understand.
context-brief.md exists, no spec.md — start at Define.spec.md exists, no plan.md — start at Ideate.plan.md exists, implementation incomplete — start at Prototype.- Implementation complete, no
audit.md — start at Test.
audit.md exists — cycle is complete; review and decide on next action (release, new cycle, or /design-doc).
Non-Linear Navigation
The process is iterative. Legitimate back-transitions:
- Define reveals problem was not understood → back to Understand.
- Ideate reveals the spec has fundamental gaps → back to Define.
- Prototype reveals a fundamental design issue → back to Ideate (or Define if the spec was wrong).
- Test reveals the implementation is fundamentally broken → back to Prototype.
- Test reveals the spec was wrong → back to Define.
Do not back-transition without updating the relevant artifact with what changed and why.
Commit Convention
docs(dt): complete <phase> phase — <brief description>
Example: docs(dt): complete understand phase — mapped auth service problem space
Note on Variants
This is the generic version of the design thinking process. Domain-specific variants (code, writing, creative) are a second iteration and are not included here. The generic process applies to all problem types.
Proceed: check docs/dt/ for existing artifacts and invoke the appropriate phase skill.
