Brainstorming

Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs

Turn ideas into validated designs through structured collaborative dialogue before writing any code.

Process

1. Understand Context

• Read project state: files, docs, recent commits.
• Ask one question at a time to refine the idea.
• Prefer multiple-choice questions over open-ended ones.
• Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria.

2. Explore Approaches

• Propose 2-3 approaches with trade-offs.
• Lead with your recommended option and explain why.
• Apply YAGNI ruthlessly -- remove unnecessary features.

3. Present Design Incrementally

• Break design into sections of 200-300 words.
• Ask after each section: "Does this look right so far?"
• Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing.
• Go back and clarify when something does not make sense.

4. Document

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

5. Transition to Implementation (Optional)

• Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?"
• Create isolated workspace with git worktree if proceeding.
• Draft a detailed implementation plan.

Error Handling

• If project context is unclear, ask for the repository path or relevant files before proceeding.
• If the user provides conflicting requirements, surface the conflict explicitly and ask for resolution.
• If a design section is rejected, revise that section before moving to the next.

Key Principles

• One question at a time -- do not overwhelm.
• Multiple choice preferred -- easier to answer.
• YAGNI ruthlessly -- cut unnecessary scope.
• Explore alternatives -- always compare 2-3 approaches.
• Incremental validation -- present in sections, confirm each.