brainstorming

Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs

Turn ideas into fully formed designs through natural collaborative dialogue.

Process: Understand context → Ask questions one at a time → Explore approaches → Present design incrementally → Validate each section.

Phase 1: Understanding

Check Project Context

Before asking questions:

• Review relevant files, docs, recent commits
• Understand existing patterns and constraints
• Note what's already built that relates

Ask Questions

Rules:

• One question per message
• Prefer multiple choice when possible
• Open-ended when exploration needed
• Break complex topics into multiple questions

Focus on:

• Purpose: What problem does this solve?
• Constraints: What must it work with?
• Success criteria: How do we know it's done?

Phase 2: Exploring Approaches

Once you understand the goal:

1. Propose 2-3 different approaches
2. Include trade-offs for each
3. Lead with your recommendation and why
4. Let user choose or refine

Example:

I see three approaches:

1. **Component-based** (recommended) - Fits your existing pattern,
   easiest to test, but more files.

2. **Inline** - Fewer files, but harder to reuse and test.

3. **Hook-based** - Most flexible, but adds complexity you may not need.

I'd go with #1 because [reasoning]. Thoughts?

Phase 3: Presenting Design

Once approach is chosen:

1. Present in sections (200-300 words each)
2. After each section: "Does this look right so far?"
3. Be ready to revise if something doesn't fit

Cover:

• Architecture / component structure
• Data flow
• Error handling
• Testing approach
• Edge cases

Phase 4: After Design

Document

Write validated design to:

docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md

Commit to git.

Implementation (if continuing)

Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?"

Then:

1. Use dm-work:worktrees to create isolated workspace
2. Create beads for implementation tasks
3. Use dm-work:orchestrator patterns for delegation

Key Principles

Anti-Patterns

Quick Reference

1. Check project context (files, docs, commits)
2. Ask questions one at a time (prefer multiple choice)
3. Propose 2-3 approaches with trade-offs
4. Present design in sections, validate each
5. Write to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md
6. If implementing: worktree → beads → orchestrate