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
Research with Experts:
- If the idea involves specialized knowledge, identify relevant experts
- Delegate reesarch task to subagent using the
task(Researcher)tool
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
During Dicsussion
Question Presentation:
- Present questions and options clearly and concisely
- Show question as a title, with options or details below
- use numbered or lettered lists for options. Allowing the user to pick by number/letter
- After presenting a section of the design, ask: "Does this look right so far?"
Ensure Consistency:
- Keep track of previous answers and design decisions
- Refer back to earlier points to ensure alignment
- Adjust the design based on feedback and new information
Shift in Direction:
- If the user indicates a significant change in direction, pause and reassess
- Check if the user is referring to forking a previous question. If so, go back to that question and present alternatives again
- Ask clarifying questions to understand the new direction
- Confirm understanding before proceeding with the new direction
After the Design
Documentation:
- Write the validated design with the proscribed storage backend.
- 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?" If yes:
- Use superpowers_using_git_worktrees skill to create isolated workspace - Use superpowers_writing_plans to create detailed implementation plan
- Otherwise, end the session
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