brainstorming
Explore ideas and create designs before implementation
Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs
Overview
Turn ideas into fully formed designs through collaborative dialogue. Understand the project context, ask clarifying questions, explore approaches, and present a validated design before any implementation begins.
When to Use
Use before starting any creative or significant work: new features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying existing behavior.
The Process
1. Understand the idea:
- Check the current project state (files, docs, recent commits)
- Ask questions one at a time, preferring multiple-choice where possible
- Focus on purpose, constraints, and success criteria
2. Explore approaches:
- Propose 2–3 different approaches with trade-offs
- Lead with a recommendation and explain the reasoning
3. Present the design:
- Present in small sections (200–300 words each)
- Ask for feedback after each section
- Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing strategy
- Present the design in the chat. Do not create files.
After the Design
- Present the final validated design in the chat
- Ask: "Ready to create an implementation plan?"
- If yes, use the
writing-plansskill
Key Principles
- One question at a time — avoid overwhelming
- Multiple choice preferred — make answering easier
- YAGNI ruthlessly — challenge any feature that doesn't seem necessary
- Explore alternatives — always propose and evaluate several approaches
- Incremental validation — confirm each part of the design together
- Revisit earlier decisions — when new information changes the picture, go back