brainstorming_skill

Overview

This skill guides interactive refinement of rough ideas into fully-formed designs using a Socratic, question-driven approach. It begins by announcing that it is being used and then iterates through understanding, exploration, incremental presentation, and handoff phases. The goal is validated, implementable designs that align with constraints and success criteria.

How this skill works

The skill inspects the current project context and asks one focused question at a time to gather purpose, constraints, and success criteria. It then proposes 2–3 distinct approaches, outlining architecture, trade-offs, and complexity for each, and asks which resonates. Approved approaches are presented in 200–300 word design sections covering architecture, components, data flow, error handling, and testing. If implementation will follow, it coordinates a safe worktree setup and creates a detailed implementation plan via specialized handoff skills.

When to use it

• You have a rough idea that needs structure before design or implementation.
• Requirements are high-level or ambiguous and need clarification through guided questions.
• You want alternative technical approaches and clear trade-offs before committing.
• You need incremental validation of a design with your team or stakeholder.
• You plan to move from design to implementation and want a safe worktree and plan handoff.

Best practices

• Ask one clear question per message during the initial understanding phase.
• Prefer multiple-choice questions to speed alignment and reduce ambiguity.
• Explore 2–3 alternative approaches before selecting a direction.
• Present designs in short, reviewable sections and ask for confirmation after each.
• Be willing to step back to earlier phases when new constraints or gaps appear.

Example use cases

• Turn a product concept into a validated system design with defined success criteria.
• Compare three backend architectures for scalability, cost, and implementation speed.
• Refine UI/UX ideas into concrete component designs and data flows.
• Prepare a design and safe worktree when transitioning from architecture to implementation.
• Create a test and error-handling strategy for a proposed feature before coding.