Brainstorming

Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs

Inspired by obra/superpowers.

Turn rough ideas into fully-formed designs through structured exploration.

Core rule: Do NOT implement anything until the design is agreed upon.

Process

1. Understand Context

• Review current project state (files, docs, existing code)
• Assess scope — is this one task or multiple sub-projects?
• If too large, decompose into smaller pieces first

2. Ask Clarifying Questions

• One question at a time
• Prefer multiple-choice when possible
• Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria

3. Explore Approaches

• Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs
• Lead with your recommendation and explain why
• Be honest about complexity vs. simplicity

4. Present Design

• Architecture overview
• Components and their responsibilities
• Data flow
• Error handling strategy
• Testing approach

5. Get Agreement

• Present each section, confirm before moving on
• Be ready to revise based on feedback
• Document the final design

Key Principles

• YAGNI ruthlessly — Remove features that aren't needed yet
• Explore alternatives — Always propose 2-3 approaches
• Incremental validation — Confirm each section
• Design for isolation — Each component should have one clear purpose
• Smaller units — Easier to understand, test, and modify

In Multi-Agent Context

When brainstorming in a meeting:

• Use speak() to propose ideas and ask questions
• Wait for other agents' input before finalizing
• Summarize the agreed design before moving to implementation

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: omnigentx
• Source: omnigentx/jarvis
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.