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 in small sections (200-300 words), checking after each section whether it looks right so far.

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
• Break it into sections of 200-300 words
• 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 (if continuing):

• Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?"
• Use superpowers:using-git-worktrees to create isolated workspace
• Use superpowers:writing-plans to create detailed implementation plan

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 in sections, validate each
• Be flexible - Go back and clarify when something doesn't make sense

Outputs & Deliverables

• Primary Output: Design document (markdown) with architecture, components, data flow, and error handling
• Secondary Output: Validated design sections with stakeholder approval
• Success Criteria: Stakeholders agree design is buildable and complete
• Quality Gate: Design ready for handoff to implementer

Constraints

• NO implementation code. Design and architecture only.
• NO deployment planning.
• Must validate each section incrementally with stakeholder feedback.

Common Pitfalls

• Leading with Solutions: Jumping to "build a dashboard" before understanding the actual problem. Always start with "what problem are we solving?"
• Vague Acceptance Criteria: Ending with "sounds good" instead of specific, measurable success criteria. Define success metrics before moving forward.
• Skipping Tradeoff Analysis: Not exploring alternatives leaves the team with one perspective. Always present 2-3 approaches with trade-offs.
• Rushing Validation: Presenting the entire design at once instead of section-by-section validation. This leads to rework and frustration.
• Ignoring Constraints: Designing without understanding budget, timeline, or technical limits. Ask constraints early.
• Assuming Shared Understanding: "We all agree what this means" leads to misalignment. Define terms explicitly and check agreement.

Integration Points