Brainstorm - Design-First Ideation

Scheduling

Goal

Explore user intent, constraints, and alternative approaches before planning or implementation, then preserve an approved design for downstream planning.

Intent signature

• User says they have an idea, want to brainstorm, compare approaches, explore concepts, or design before planning.
• Request is ambiguous enough that implementation or task planning would be premature.

When to use

• Exploring a new feature idea before planning
• Understanding user intent and constraints before committing to an approach
• Comparing multiple design approaches with trade-offs
• When the user says "I have an idea" or "let's design something"
• Before invoking /plan for complex or ambiguous requests

When NOT to use

• Requirements are already clear and well-defined -> use pm-agent directly
• Implementing actual code -> delegate to specialized agents
• Performing code reviews -> use QA Agent
• Debugging existing issues -> use debug-agent

Expected inputs

• Early idea, ambiguous goal, product concept, design question, or set of constraints
• Existing project context when the idea must fit a codebase or product direction
• User preferences and approval gates

Expected outputs

• Clarified intent and constraints
• Two or three approaches with tradeoffs and a recommended option
• Section-by-section approved design document
• Saved design artifact before handoff to planning

Dependencies

• Shared context loading, reasoning templates, clarification protocol, quality principles, and skill routing
• Downstream PM workflow for task decomposition after design approval

Control-flow features

• Branches by ambiguity, user answers, approach comparison, and approval gates
• Asks one question at a time
• Stops before implementation or task planning

Structural Flow