brainstorming
Structured design dialogue that validates ideas before implementation begins.
- Enforces a hard gate: no code, scaffolding, or implementation actions until design is presented and approved
- Guides through nine sequential steps: context exploration, clarifying questions, approach proposals, design presentation, spec documentation, review loop, and user sign-off
- Applies to all projects regardless of perceived complexity; even simple tasks require a brief design review to catch unexamined assumptions
- Includes optional visual companion for mockups, diagrams, and layout comparisons during brainstorming
- Terminates by invoking the writing-plans skill to create implementation roadmaps
Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs
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
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