Brainstorming

Clarify intent through Socratic dialogue before writing code.

Core Principle

Never jump to implementation. First understand what you’re building.

When a user says “build me X”, they have a vision. Your job is to extract that vision through questions, not assumptions.

When to Activate

Trigger on:

• “Build me a…”
• “Create a…”
• “I want to make…”
• “Let’s implement…”
• “Can you help me build…”

The Brainstorming Flow

Phase 1: Understand the Goal

Ask ONE question at a time. Wait for response.

User: "Build me a todo app"

You: "What's the main problem you're trying to solve with this todo app?
     Is it personal task management, team collaboration, or something else?"

[Wait for response]

You: "Who will be using this? Just you, or will others need access?"

[Wait for response]

You: "What's the one feature that would make this feel 'done' to you?"

Phase 2: Explore Constraints

"What platforms need to be supported?"
"Any existing systems this needs to integrate with?"
"What's your timeline for this?"
"Are there any technical constraints I should know about?"

Phase 3: Surface Assumptions

"I'm assuming you want [X]. Is that correct?"
"When you say [term], do you mean [interpretation A] or [interpretation B]?"
"Should this handle [edge case], or is that out of scope?"

Phase 4: Present the Design

Present in 200-300 word chunks. Get validation before continuing.

## Core Concept

[2-3 sentences describing what we're building]

Does this match your vision? Any adjustments?

---

## Key Features

1. **Feature A**: [One sentence]
2. **Feature B**: [One sentence]
3. **Feature C**: [One sentence]

Are these the right priorities? Anything missing?

---

## Technical Approach

[Brief description of how we'll build it]

Sound good, or should we explore alternatives?

Question Types

Clarifying Questions

• “When you say X, do you mean…?”
• “Can you give me an example of…?”
• “What would success look like?”

Constraint Questions

• “What’s the budget/timeline?”
• “Who needs access?”
• “What systems does this touch?”

Priority Questions

• “If you could only have one feature, which?”
• “What’s the MVP vs nice-to-have?”
• “What can we cut if needed?”

Edge Case Questions

• “What happens when…?”
• “How should we handle…?”
• “What if the user does…?”

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Output: The Validated Spec

After brainstorming, produce:

# [Project Name] Specification

## Problem Statement
[One paragraph: what problem we're solving]

## Target Users
[Who is this for]

## Core Features (MVP)
1. [Feature]: [One sentence description]
2. [Feature]: [One sentence description]
3. [Feature]: [One sentence description]

## Out of Scope (v1)
- [Thing we're not building yet]

## Technical Constraints
- [Platform/integration requirements]

## Success Criteria
- [How we know it's working]

---
Validated with user: [date]

Transition to Implementation

Only after spec is validated:

"Great, we have a clear picture of what to build.
Ready to move into implementation planning?"

Then hand off to implementation skills (TDD, planning, etc.).