brainstorming

name	brainstorming
description	Structured idea generation and diverge/converge facilitation. Use when the user says 'let's brainstorm', 'I need ideas', or 'help me explore options'.

Brainstorming Facilitation

Goal

Generate a wide range of ideas on a topic, then converge on the most promising ones through structured evaluation — not gut feeling.

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Activation

1. Ask: "What topic or problem are we brainstorming?"
2. Ask: "What kind of output do you want? Options:"
   • A: Feature ideas
   • B: Technical approaches / solutions
   • C: Business models / monetization strategies
   • D: Problem definitions / root causes
   • E: Custom
3. Ask: "How many ideas do you want to explore? (suggested: 10–20)"

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Phase 1: Diverge — Generate Without Judgment

Generate {n} ideas. Use multiple frames:

• Conventional (the obvious approach)
• Analogy (how does another industry solve this?)
• Inversion (what if we did the opposite?)
• Constraint removal (what if time/money/tech weren't a limit?)
• User extreme (what would the most demanding user want?)
• Simplification (what's the 10% version?)

Present ideas in a numbered list with a 1-line description each.

⏸️ STOP — let the user react before evaluation. Ask: "Any immediate reactions? Anything to add?"

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Phase 2: Cluster

Group related ideas together. Present clusters with names.

Ask: "Does this grouping look right? Any ideas to move?"

⏸️ STOP — wait for feedback.

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Phase 3: Converge — Score by Criteria

For each cluster/idea, score across:

Criterion	Weight
Impact (if it works, how much does it matter?)	40%
Feasibility (how realistic to implement?)	30%
Novelty (how differentiated from obvious approaches?)	20%
Risk (how much could go wrong?)	10% (inverse)

Score 1–5 per criterion. Show weighted total.

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Phase 4: Top Picks

Present top 3 ideas with brief rationale.

Ask:

"Which of these should we develop further? Or would you like to explore a different angle?"

Options:

1. Turn top pick into a product brief (product-brief)
2. Explore the idea further with more brainstorming rounds
3. Save this output and return to your agent
4. Done

⏸️ STOP — wait for choice.

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Output (Optional Save)

If the user wants to save the output, write to {planning_artifacts}/briefs/brainstorm-{topic-slug}-{date}.md.