brainstorming

# Brainstorming Turn ideas into fully formed designs before writing code. ## Hard gate Do not write code, scaffold projects, or invoke implementation skills until a design is presented and approved. ## Process 1. Explore the current project context. 2. Ask clarifying questions one at a time. 3. Propose 2-3 approaches with trade-offs and a recommendation. 4. Present the design and get approval. 5. Write the design doc to `docs/specs/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md`. 6. Run a self-review for placeholders, contradictions, ambiguity, and scope. 7. Ask the user to review the spec. 8. Transition to implementation via a planning step. ## Principles - One question at a time. - Prefer multiple choice when possible. - YAGNI: remove unnecessary features. - Explore alternatives. - Design for small, well-bounded units. ## Design doc sections - Problem and goals - Scope - Architecture - Components and interfaces - Data flow - Error handling - Testing approach ## Notes Even simple projects need a short design. The design can be a few sentences, but it must be explicit and approved.