brainstorming

name	brainstorming
description	Use before any creative work — creating features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying behavior. Explores intent, requirements, and design before implementation.

Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs

Overview

Turn ideas into fully formed designs through collaborative dialogue. Understand first, explore options, then present the design in digestible sections.

The Process

Understanding the idea:

• Check current project state first (files, docs, recent commits)
• Ask questions one at a time
• Prefer multiple choice when possible
• Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria

Exploring approaches:

• Propose 2-3 approaches with trade-offs
• Lead with your recommendation and reasoning

Presenting the design:

• Once you understand what you're building, present the design
• Break into sections of 200-300 words
• Ask after each section whether it looks right
• Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
• Be ready to go back and revise

After the Design

Documentation:

• Write validated design to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md
• Commit the design document

Implementation (if continuing):

• Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?"
• Use the git-workflow skill to create an isolated workspace
• Use the planning skill to create a detailed implementation plan

Key Principles

• One question at a time — don't overwhelm
• Multiple choice preferred — easier than open-ended
• YAGNI ruthlessly — remove unnecessary features
• Explore alternatives — always propose 2-3 approaches
• Incremental validation — present in sections, validate each