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haojing8312haojing8312/WorkClaw/.claude/skills/brainstorming/SKILL.md

brainstorming

Skill141 starsChanged 7 months agoApache-2.0View on GitHub

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.

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

15 rules. 0 are common, 14 are distinctive, and 1 is very specific to this project.

  • 0

    Common

    Most of the 165 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 14

    Distinctive

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 1

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Distinctive:

    Start by understanding the current project context, then ask questions one at a time to refine the idea.

    line 12
  2. Distinctive:

    Do NOT invoke any implementation skill, write any code, scaffold any project, or take any implementation action until you have presented a …

    line 15
  3. Distinctive:

    The terminal state is invoking writing-plans: Do NOT invoke frontend-design, mcp-builder, or any other implementation skill.

    line 55
  4. Distinctive:

    Check out the current project state first (files, docs, recent commits)

    line 60
  5. Distinctive:

    Ask questions one at a time to refine the idea

    line 61
  6. Distinctive:

    Prefer multiple choice questions when possible, but open-ended is fine too

    line 62
  7. Distinctive:

    Only one question per message - if a topic needs more exploration, break it into multiple questions

    line 63
  8. Distinctive:

    Ask after each section whether it looks right so far

    line 74
  9. Very specific:

    Write the validated design to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md

    line 81
  10. Distinctive:

    Use elements-of-style:writing-clearly-and-concisely skill if available

    line 82
  11. Distinctive:

    Commit the design document to git

    line 83
  12. Distinctive:

    Do NOT invoke any other skill.

    line 87
  13. Distinctive:

    One question at a time: - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions

    line 91
  14. Distinctive:

    YAGNI ruthlessly: - Remove unnecessary features from all designs

    line 93
  15. Distinctive:

    Explore alternatives: - Always propose 2-3 approaches before settling

    line 94

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 165 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

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.

<HARD-GATE> Do 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. </HARD-GATE>

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:

  1. Explore project context — check files, docs, recent commits
  2. Ask clarifying questions — one at a time, understand purpose/constraints/success criteria
  3. Propose 2-3 approaches — with trade-offs and your recommendation
  4. Present design — in sections scaled to their complexity, get user approval after each section
  5. Write design doc — save to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md and commit
  6. 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

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