Brainstorming

Socratic design refinement before coding. Use when user requests feature without clear spec.

Brainstorming Skill

When to Use

Trigger BEFORE writing code when:

• User request is vague ("make it better", "add feature X")
• Complex feature with multiple approaches
• Design decisions impact multiple components

Workflow

Step 1: Understand Intent

Ask clarifying questions:

• What problem are we solving?
• Who is the user?
• What's the success criteria?
• What constraints exist? (time, compatibility, dependencies)

Step 2: Explore Alternatives

Present 2-3 approaches:

• Approach A (simple): [description]
• Approach B (robust): [description]
• Approach C (future-proof): [description]

For each: Pros, Cons, Complexity (1-5)

Step 3: Design Document

After user picks approach, create design doc:

# Feature: [Name]

## Problem
[1-2 sentences]

## Solution
[Chosen approach, 3-5 sentences]

## Components Affected
- [Component 1]: [Change description]
- [Component 2]: [Change description]

## Testing Strategy
- Unit tests: [What to test]
- Integration tests: [What to test]

## Edge Cases
- [Case 1]
- [Case 2]

## Success Criteria
- [ ] [Criterion 1]
- [ ] [Criterion 2]

Save to: docs/design/YYYY-MM-DD-feature-name.md

Step 4: Transition to Planning

Pass design doc to writing-plans skill.

Anti-Patterns

❌ Jump straight to implementation ❌ Present only one approach ❌ Skip edge case discussion ❌ Forget to save design doc

Example

User: "Add caching"

Bad:

I'll add Redis caching to the API.

Good:

Let me understand the requirements first:

1. What should be cached? (API responses, DB queries, computed results?)
2. What's the invalidation strategy? (TTL, event-based, manual?)
3. What's the acceptable staleness? (seconds, minutes, hours?)

Based on your answers, I'll present 3 approaches with trade-offs.