ideate

name	ideate
description	Phase 3 of design thinking. Generate and select an approach, then produce a concrete implementation plan. Input: spec from /define. Invoke after Define, or when Prototype reveals a fundamental design issue requiring replanning.

Ideate — Phase 3 of Design Thinking

Using ideate to generate approaches and produce a concrete implementation plan.

Goal

Produce docs/dt/plan.md.

Primary Input

Read docs/dt/spec.md before doing anything else.

What the Plan Contains

• Chosen approach — the selected solution strategy, with 2-3 alternatives considered and explicit rationale for the choice.
• Task breakdown — an ordered list of tasks, each producing a testable increment. Tasks are sequential where there are dependencies; note which are independent.
  • For code tasks: each task lists the files to create or modify and a verify step (how to confirm the task is done).
  • For writing tasks: each task produces a section, draft, or revision pass.
  • For other tasks: each task produces a concrete deliverable.
• Key design decisions — choices made here that constrain Prototype. Explicitly document what was decided and why alternatives were not chosen.

What Does NOT Belong in the Plan

• Implementation code itself.
• Test results or evaluation.
• Content that belongs in the spec (criteria, invariants).

The plan is the road, not the destination and not the vehicle.

Procedure

1. Read the spec. Internalize all success criteria, failure criteria, invariants, and scope.
2. Propose 2-3 approaches. For each: name it, describe the core idea, and list the main tradeoffs relative to the spec's criteria.
3. Select the best approach. If the choice is genuinely ambiguous between approaches that serve the spec equally well, ask Alex. Otherwise, decide and document the reasoning.
4. Break into tasks. Each task should be small enough to complete in one sitting and produce something verifiable.
5. Write the plan to docs/dt/plan.md. Use the frontmatter:

   ---
   date: YYYY-MM-DD
   phase: ideate
   status: complete
   ---
   

6. Self-review against spec. For each success criterion in the spec, trace it to at least one task in the plan. If a criterion is not covered, add a task.
7. Commit.

   docs(dt): complete ideate phase — <brief description>
   

8. Hand off.

Handoff

Phase complete: Ideate
Artifact: docs/dt/plan.md

Next: open a new agent session, invoke /prototype, read docs/dt/plan.md and docs/dt/spec.md first.

Back-transitions: if plan reveals the spec has fundamental gaps → /define
Skip forward: if implementation is already started → /prototype