Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs
Overview
Help turn ideas into fully formed designs and specs through natural collaborative dialogue.
Start by understanding the current project context, then ask questions one at a time to refine the idea. Once you understand what you're building, present the design and get user approval.
Anti-Pattern: "This Is Too Simple To Need A Design"
Every project goes through this process. A todo list, a single-function utility, a config change — all of them. "Simple" projects are where unexamined assumptions cause the most wasted work. The design can be short (a few sentences for truly simple projects), but you MUST present it and get approval.
Checklist
You MUST create a task for each of these items and complete them in order:
- Explore project context — check files, docs, recent commits
- Ask clarifying questions — one at a time, understand purpose/constraints/success criteria
- Propose 2-3 approaches — with trade-offs and your recommendation
- Present design — in sections scaled to their complexity, get user approval after each section
- Write design doc — save to
docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md and commit
- Transition to implementation — invoke writing-plans skill to create implementation plan
Process Flow
digraph brainstorming {
"Explore project context" [shape=box];
"Ask clarifying questions" [shape=box];
"Propose 2-3 approaches" [shape=box];
"Present design sections" [shape=box];
"User approves design?" [shape=diamond];
"Write design doc" [shape=box];
"Invoke writing-plans skill" [shape=doublecircle];
"Explore project context" -> "Ask clarifying questions";
"Ask clarifying questions" -> "Propose 2-3 approaches";
"Propose 2-3 approaches" -> "Present design sections";
"Present design sections" -> "User approves design?";
"User approves design?" -> "Present design sections" [label="no, revise"];
"User approves design?" -> "Write design doc" [label="yes"];
"Write design doc" -> "Invoke writing-plans skill";
}
The terminal state is invoking writing-plans. Do NOT invoke frontend-design, mcp-builder, or any other implementation skill. The ONLY skill you invoke after brainstorming is writing-plans.
The Process
Understanding the idea:
- Check out the current project state first (files, docs, recent commits)
- Ask questions one at a time to refine the idea
- Prefer multiple choice questions when possible, but open-ended is fine too
- Only one question per message - if a topic needs more exploration, break it into multiple questions
- Focus on understanding: purpose, constraints, success criteria
Exploring approaches:
- Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs
- Present options conversationally with your recommendation and reasoning
- Lead with your recommended option and explain why
Presenting the design:
- Once you believe you understand what you're building, present the design
- Scale each section to its complexity: a few sentences if straightforward, up to 200-300 words if nuanced
- Ask after each section whether it looks right so far
- Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
- Be ready to go back and clarify if something doesn't make sense
After the Design
Documentation:
- Write the validated design to
docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md
- Use elements-of-style:writing-clearly-and-concisely skill if available
- Commit the design document to git
Implementation:
- Invoke the writing-plans skill to create a detailed implementation plan
- Do NOT invoke any other skill. writing-plans is the next step.
Key Principles
- One question at a time - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions
- Multiple choice preferred - Easier to answer than open-ended when possible
- YAGNI ruthlessly - Remove unnecessary features from all designs
- Explore alternatives - Always propose 2-3 approaches before settling
- Incremental validation - Present design, get approval before moving on
- Be flexible - Go back and clarify when something doesn't make sense
1---2name: obra-superpowers-brainstorming3description: You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying behavior. Explores user intent, requirements and design before implementation.4---5
6# Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs
7
8## Overview
9
10Help turn ideas into fully formed designs and specs through natural collaborative dialogue.
11
12Start by understanding the current project context, then ask questions one at a time to refine the idea. Once you understand what you're building, present the design and get user approval.
13
14<HARD-GATE>
15Do NOT invoke any implementation skill, write any code, scaffold any project, or take any implementation action until you have presented a design and the user has approved it. This applies to EVERY project regardless of perceived simplicity.
16</HARD-GATE>
17
18## Anti-Pattern: "This Is Too Simple To Need A Design"
19
20Every project goes through this process. A todo list, a single-function utility, a config change — all of them. "Simple" projects are where unexamined assumptions cause the most wasted work. The design can be short (a few sentences for truly simple projects), but you MUST present it and get approval.
21
22## Checklist
23
24You MUST create a task for each of these items and complete them in order:
25
261. **Explore project context** — check files, docs, recent commits
272. **Ask clarifying questions** — one at a time, understand purpose/constraints/success criteria
283. **Propose 2-3 approaches** — with trade-offs and your recommendation
294. **Present design** — in sections scaled to their complexity, get user approval after each section
305. **Write design doc** — save to `docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md` and commit
316. **Transition to implementation** — invoke writing-plans skill to create implementation plan
32
33## Process Flow
34
35```dot
36digraph brainstorming {
37 "Explore project context" [shape=box];
38 "Ask clarifying questions" [shape=box];
39 "Propose 2-3 approaches" [shape=box];
40 "Present design sections" [shape=box];
41 "User approves design?" [shape=diamond];
42 "Write design doc" [shape=box];
43 "Invoke writing-plans skill" [shape=doublecircle];
44
45 "Explore project context" -> "Ask clarifying questions";
46 "Ask clarifying questions" -> "Propose 2-3 approaches";
47 "Propose 2-3 approaches" -> "Present design sections";
48 "Present design sections" -> "User approves design?";
49 "User approves design?" -> "Present design sections" [label="no, revise"];
50 "User approves design?" -> "Write design doc" [label="yes"];
51 "Write design doc" -> "Invoke writing-plans skill";
52}
53```
54
55**The terminal state is invoking writing-plans.** Do NOT invoke frontend-design, mcp-builder, or any other implementation skill. The ONLY skill you invoke after brainstorming is writing-plans.
56
57## The Process
58
59**Understanding the idea:**
60- Check out the current project state first (files, docs, recent commits)
61- Ask questions one at a time to refine the idea
62- Prefer multiple choice questions when possible, but open-ended is fine too
63- Only one question per message - if a topic needs more exploration, break it into multiple questions
64- Focus on understanding: purpose, constraints, success criteria
65
66**Exploring approaches:**
67- Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs
68- Present options conversationally with your recommendation and reasoning
69- Lead with your recommended option and explain why
70
71**Presenting the design:**
72- Once you believe you understand what you're building, present the design
73- Scale each section to its complexity: a few sentences if straightforward, up to 200-300 words if nuanced
74- Ask after each section whether it looks right so far
75- Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
76- Be ready to go back and clarify if something doesn't make sense
77
78## After the Design
79
80**Documentation:**
81- Write the validated design to `docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md`
82- Use elements-of-style:writing-clearly-and-concisely skill if available
83- Commit the design document to git
84
85**Implementation:**
86- Invoke the writing-plans skill to create a detailed implementation plan
87- Do NOT invoke any other skill. writing-plans is the next step.
88
89## Key Principles
90
91- **One question at a time** - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions
92- **Multiple choice preferred** - Easier to answer than open-ended when possible
93- **YAGNI ruthlessly** - Remove unnecessary features from all designs
94- **Explore alternatives** - Always propose 2-3 approaches before settling
95- **Incremental validation** - Present design, get approval before moving on
96- **Be flexible** - Go back and clarify when something doesn't make sense
97
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