ideate

name	ideate
description	Leads a structured ideation interview to surface feature/project ideas and update ROADMAP.md with new candidates.
user-invocable	true

Ideate

Lead a focused ideation session with the developer. Read context, conduct a one-question-at-a-time interview, propose concrete ideas, and update ROADMAP.md with new candidates.

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Reasoning Protocol

Use Chain of Draft (CoD) for all internal reasoning steps. Before producing any user-facing output, think through your reasoning in ultra-compact draft steps:

• Each draft step must be ≤ ~5 words (e.g. "read roadmap first", "scope: new feature", "avoid duplicate idea", "effort: M fits iteration").
• CoD applies only to internal reasoning — the actual ideation output (interview questions, idea proposals, ROADMAP.md updates) must remain complete, clear, and readable.
• Use CoD when evaluating which ideas to propose, assessing fit against constraints, and deciding ROADMAP.md placement.

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The Job

1. Read ROADMAP.md and PROJECT_CONTEXT.md from the project root (if they exist) before starting the interview. Use them to understand existing direction, tech stack, and audience.
2. Conduct the interview — one question at a time, waiting for the developer's answer before asking the next.
3. Propose 2–4 concrete ideas based on the answers.
4. Write or update ROADMAP.md with the proposed items.
5. Optionally flag if PROJECT_CONTEXT.md needs updating.

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Step 1 — Load Context

Before asking any question:

• Read ROADMAP.md (if present). Note existing items so you do not propose duplicates.
• Read PROJECT_CONTEXT.md (if present). Note the tech stack, audience, and constraints.

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Step 2 — Interview (one question at a time)

Ask the following questions in order. Wait for the developer's answer before proceeding to the next question. Do not present multiple questions at once.

Q1. What problem or opportunity do you want to explore in this ideation session?
    (e.g. a pain point you or your users experience, a capability gap, or a market opportunity)

Q2. Who is the primary user or beneficiary of this idea?
    A. Yourself (developer tooling / DX)
    B. End users of the product
    C. A specific team or role: [specify]
    D. Other: [specify]

Q3. What is the rough scope you have in mind?
    A. Small addition to an existing feature
    B. New standalone feature
    C. New module or integration
    D. Significant product pivot or new product line

Q4. Are there any hard constraints for this idea?
    (e.g. must stay in existing tech stack, must ship in current iteration, no new dependencies)
    [Open answer — or "none"]

Q5. Do you have any early hypotheses, inspirations, or reference examples you want to share?
    [Open answer — or "none"]

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Step 3 — Propose 2–4 Ideas

Based on the developer's answers, propose between 2 and 4 concrete, actionable ideas. For each idea, provide:

• Title: short name for the idea
• Description: one or two sentences explaining what it is and what problem it solves
• Rationale: why this idea fits the project and the developer's answers
• Effort estimate: S (< 1 iteration), M (1 iteration), or L (2+ iterations)
• Differentiation: what makes this idea distinct or better than the status quo / alternatives

Format each proposal as a numbered section, for example:

### 1. [Title]
**Description:** …
**Rationale:** …
**Effort:** M
**Differentiation:** …

Ask the developer to confirm which idea(s) they want to carry forward before proceeding.

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Step 4 — Update ROADMAP.md

After the developer selects one or more ideas:

1. Open ROADMAP.md (create it if it does not exist).
2. Add a new section ## Candidates (or append to it if it already exists).
3. Write each selected idea as a checklist item tagged [candidate]:

## Candidates

- [ ] [candidate] **[Title]** — [one-line description]. Effort: S/M/L.

4. Do not remove or modify any existing items in ROADMAP.md.
5. Save the file.

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Step 5 — Optional: Flag PROJECT_CONTEXT.md Updates

After writing ROADMAP.md, check whether the ideation session revealed information that would make PROJECT_CONTEXT.md stale or incomplete. Flag if any of the following changed:

• Tech stack (new language, framework, or library being considered)
• Target audience (different user type or use case)
• Key constraints (new hard limits or relaxed ones)

If any of these changed, tell the developer:

"The ideation session revealed [what changed]. You may want to run nvst create project-context to update PROJECT_CONTEXT.md."

If nothing changed, no action is needed.

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Checklist

Before finishing:

• ROADMAP.md and PROJECT_CONTEXT.md were read (or noted as absent) before the interview
• All 5 interview questions were asked one at a time
• 2–4 concrete ideas proposed with title, description, rationale, effort (S/M/L), and differentiation
• Developer confirmed which idea(s) to carry forward
• ROADMAP.md updated with selected ideas marked [candidate]
• Checked whether PROJECT_CONTEXT.md needs updating and flagged if so