Skill skill

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…

Updated Apr 1, 2026 By One Person Company Editorial Team Skill system

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

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# brainstorming

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

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