Simple Brainstorm

A lightweight brainstorming skill for quick ideation and decision-making. Get from idea to actionable plan in minutes, not hours.

Hard Gate

Do NOT write any code or take any implementation action until the user approves a direction.

Process

1. Understand: Read project context. Ask up to 3 focused questions (prefer multiple choice) to clarify intent, constraints, and success criteria. Combine related questions when possible.

2. Propose: Present 2 approaches with clear trade-offs. Lead with your recommendation and explain why. Keep each approach to 2-3 sentences.

3. Decide: Get user approval on an approach. If rejected, propose alternatives. Don’t loop more than twice — if still unclear, ask the user to clarify what they want directly.

4. Summarize: Write a brief summary of the chosen approach (what, why, key decisions) as a comment at the top of the first file you create, or share it in chat. No separate design doc needed.

Principles

• Speed over ceremony: Skip formality. No design docs for small/medium work.
• YAGNI ruthlessly: Only design what’s needed now.
• Bias toward action: When two options are close, pick one and move. Perfect is the enemy of done.
• One round of questions: Batch your clarifying questions. Don’t drag out discovery.
• Scale to complexity: For trivial tasks, steps 1-2 can be a single message. For larger work, spend more time on step 2.