Brainstorming

Brainstorming

Help turn ideas into fully formed designs through collaborative dialogue.

Process

1. Understand Context

Check out the current project state first:

• Read relevant files and docs
• Check recent commits
• Understand existing patterns

2. Ask Clarifying Questions

Ask questions one at a time to refine the idea:

• Prefer multiple choice questions when possible
• Only one question per message
• Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria

3. Explore Approaches

Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs:

• Lead with your recommended option
• Explain reasoning for recommendation
• Be clear about trade-offs

4. Present Design

Once you understand what you're building:

• Break into sections of 200-300 words
• Ask after each section if it looks right
• Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
• Be ready to go back and clarify

Key Principles

• One question at a time - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions
• Multiple choice preferred - Easier to answer than open-ended
• YAGNI ruthlessly - Remove unnecessary features from all designs
• Explore alternatives - Always propose 2-3 approaches before settling
• Incremental validation - Present design in sections, validate each

Output

Design document saved to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md

After design is approved:

1. Commit the design document
2. Ask if ready to proceed to implementation planning