Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs

Overview

Transform vague ideas into concrete, implementable designs through structured dialogue. Ask questions one at a time, present designs in digestible sections, and validate incrementally before committing to implementation.

Core principle: One question at a time. Never overwhelm with multiple questions.

Announce at start: "I'm using the brainstorm skill to explore this idea."

When to Use

• Starting a new feature or project
• Exploring design alternatives
• Clarifying requirements before implementation
• Breaking down complex problems
• Any creative work that modifies behavior

The Process

Phase 1: Understanding the Idea

Before asking questions:

1. Run kodo query "<topic>" to check existing patterns and context
2. Check project state (files, docs, recent commits)
3. Review any related learnings from past sessions

Asking questions:

• One question per message - If topic needs more exploration, break into multiple questions
• Prefer multiple choice when possible - easier to answer than open-ended
• Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria, edge cases
• If user gives vague answer, follow up to clarify

Question types (prefer in this order):

1. Multiple choice: "Which approach: A, B, or C?"
2. Yes/No confirmation: "Should it also handle X?"
3. Open-ended only when necessary: "What happens when...?"

Phase 2: Exploring Approaches

When requirements are clear:

1. Propose 2-3 approaches with clear trade-offs
2. Lead with your recommendation and explain why
3. Present options conversationally, not as bullet lists
4. Wait for user to choose before proceeding

Format:

I'd recommend approach A because [reasoning].

Alternatively:
- Approach B would [trade-off]
- Approach C would [trade-off]

Which direction feels right?

Phase 3: Presenting the Design

Once approach is chosen:

1. Present in sections of 200-300 words
2. After each section ask: "Does this look right so far?"
3. Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
4. Be ready to revise if something doesn't fit

Sections to cover:

• High-level architecture
• Key components and their responsibilities
• Data flow and state management
• Error handling strategy
• Testing approach
• Edge cases

Phase 4: Documentation

After design is validated:

1. Write to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md
2. Commit the design document
3. Auto-extract learnings from the design doc:
   bashCopy

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

   This will:
   • Parse the design doc for learnings (rules, decisions, tech choices, workflows)
   • Add them to .kodo/learnings/ with HIGH confidence (user-created design)
   • Create a context entry in .kodo/context-tree/
4. Capture any additional key decisions: kodo reflect --signal "Decided to use X because Y"

Handoff to Implementation

After saving the design, offer:

"Design saved to docs/plans/<filename>.md. Ready to create implementation plan?"

If yes:

• Use kodo:plan skill to create detailed implementation plan
• Link to GitHub issue if exists: kodo track link #123

Key Principles

• One question at a time - Never multiple questions in same message
• Multiple choice preferred - When possible, offer options
• YAGNI ruthlessly - Remove unnecessary features from designs
• Incremental validation - Present in sections, validate each
• Be flexible - Go back and clarify when something doesn't fit

Red Flags

You're doing it wrong if:

• Asking 3+ questions at once
• Presenting full design without checkpoints
• Skipping existing context check (kodo query)
• Not offering multiple approaches
• Moving to implementation without documenting design