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.

Announce at start: "I'm using the brainstorming skill to refine this idea into a design."

Step 0: GitHub-First Check (Required)

BEFORE brainstorming, verify this work hasn't been done or planned:

1. Search GitHub Issues

# Search for existing/related issues
gh issue list --search "<topic keywords>" --state all --json number,title,state --limit 10

2. Search Existing Skills and Code

# Search for related skills
grep -r "<keywords>" packages/plugin/skills/ --include="SKILL.md" -l

# Search for related utilities
grep -r "<keywords>" packages/plugin/hooks/utils/ --include="*.py" -l

3. Check Upstream Context

# Check if another skill passed context to us
from popkit_shared.utils.skill_context import load_skill_context

ctx = load_skill_context()
if ctx and ctx.previous_output:
    # Use existing context instead of re-asking
    topic = ctx.previous_output.get("topic")
    existing_decisions = ctx.shared_decisions

4. Present Findings via AskUserQuestion

If related issues or code found:

Use AskUserQuestion tool with:
- question: "Found existing work related to '<topic>'. How should we proceed?"
- header: "Existing"
- options:
  - label: "Use existing"
    description: "Build on what's already there"
  - label: "Enhance"
    description: "Extend existing with new features"
  - label: "Start fresh"
    description: "Create new (explain why existing doesn't fit)"
- multiSelect: false

Only proceed to brainstorming after completing this check.

User Interaction Pattern

ALWAYS use AskUserQuestion for decisions and clarifications:

Use AskUserQuestion tool with:
- question: Clear, specific question ending with "?"
- header: Short label (max 12 chars): "Approach", "Auth", "Database"
- options: 2-4 choices with labels and descriptions
- multiSelect: false (unless multiple selections make sense)

NEVER present options as plain text like "1. Option A, 2. Option B - type 1 or 2".

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 using AskUserQuestion
• Only one question per message - if a topic needs more exploration, break it into multiple questions
• Focus on understanding: purpose, constraints, success criteria

Exploring approaches:

• Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs using AskUserQuestion
• Each option should have a clear label and description explaining trade-offs
• Lead with your recommended option by listing it first

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

After the Design

Documentation:

• Write the validated design to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md
• Commit the design document to git

Context Handoff (for downstream skills):

# Save context for pop-writing-plans or other downstream skills
from popkit_shared.utils.skill_context import save_skill_context, SkillOutput, link_workflow_to_issue

# Save design output
save_skill_context(SkillOutput(
    skill_name="pop-brainstorming",
    status="completed",
    output={
        "topic": "<topic>",
        "approach": "<chosen approach>",
        "design_summary": "<brief summary>"
    },
    artifacts=["docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md"],
    next_suggested="pop-writing-plans",
    decisions_made=[<list of AskUserQuestion results>]
))

# If GitHub issue exists, link it
if issue_number:
    link_workflow_to_issue(issue_number)

Create or Link GitHub Issue:

# If no issue exists, offer to create one
gh issue create --title "[Design] <topic>" --body "Design document: docs/plans/..."

Implementation (if continuing):

• Use AskUserQuestion: "Design complete. What's next?"
• Options: "Create implementation plan", "Create issue only", "Done for now"
• Use pop:writing-plans skill to create detailed implementation plan (receives context automatically)

Key Principles

• One question at a time - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions
• Always use AskUserQuestion - Interactive prompts, never plain text options
• 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

PDF Input Support

When provided with a PDF file path (design doc, spec, or requirements), read it first:

User: Here's the design doc: /path/to/design.pdf

Process PDF input:

1. Use Read tool to analyze the PDF content
2. Extract key requirements, constraints, and goals
3. Identify areas that need clarification
4. Use extracted context to inform the brainstorming process

When reading design PDFs:

• Look for: objectives, user stories, constraints, success criteria
• Note gaps: missing acceptance criteria, unclear requirements
• Identify: dependencies, technical constraints, timeline pressures
• Flag: ambiguities that need clarification during brainstorming

This allows brainstorming to start from existing documentation rather than from scratch.