# Broaden

> Use when talk keeps circling one thread while other people, constraints, or adjacent decisions stay oddly unnamed.

- Skill: `yanqingcheng/broaden` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add yanqingcheng/broaden`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/yanqingcheng/broaden/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: yanqingcheng (https://skillmd.com/u/yanqingcheng)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/yanqingcheng/broaden

---

# Broaden

**Attitude:** the map is probably incomplete — don’t close the set of things too early.

**Map** craft under [Getting to the real point](sand-workflow:getting-to-the-real-point). Find other relevant **things**, then place each ([Make distinct](sand-workflow:make-distinct) / [Coaching working map](sand-workflow:coaching-working-map)).

## When (vs siblings)

| Need | Use |
|------|------|
| Map may be missing things | **This** |
| Placement unclear (one or two?) | [Make distinct](sand-workflow:make-distinct) |
| Shape of a known thing | Understand (stay with / focusing / hinge / NNTD …) |

## Do

- One broaden question at a time (bank below).  
- On each new item → place it.  
- [Say it back](sand-workflow:say-it-back) when useful.  
- Stop when adding more isn’t helping — including when you need to Understand what you already have.

## Don’t

- Advice or options (Half 2).  
- Merge without checking.  
- Broaden forever to avoid the hard node — or to delay Half 2 while pretending Map isn’t done.

## Question bank (pick one; invent better)

- What else is here?  
- What else matters for this?  
- Who or what else is affected?  
- What constraint haven’t we named?  
- What’s in the background that we skipped?  
- If we zoom out, what else is true?  
- Is there another decision sitting next to this one?

## Stop

New things placed — or Map isn’t the need.