# Solution Brainstorming

> Structured ideation with constraints. Use when generating solution ideas for a defined problem or opportunity, getting a team unstuck, or finding creative approaches.

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-uthumany-uthy-legacy-os-solution-brainstorming`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [uthumany](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/uthumany)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [uthumany](https://github.com/uthumany)
- **Source:** https://github.com/uthumany/uthy-legacy-os/tree/main/skills/solution-exploration/solution-brainstorming
- **Website:** https://uthumany.github.io/uthy-legacy-os/

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-uthumany-uthy-legacy-os-solution-brainstorming
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Solution Brainstorming

## Overview

Brainstorming is the bridge from problem space to solution space. But unstructured brainstorming produces平庸 ideas. This skill provides structured ideation techniques — divergent thinking to generate possibilities, convergent thinking to select the most promising ones — all within constraints that make the process productive.

## When to Use

- You've defined a problem and need solution options
- The obvious solutions are uninspired or already tried
- You want to involve the team in creative problem-solving
- You need to explore multiple approaches before committing
- Don't use for: well-known solutions to well-known problems (just build it), individual work (brainstorming works best with 2-5 people)

## Instructions

### Phase 1: Set Constraints (10 min)

Before generating ideas, define what's in bounds:
- **Time**: "We have one sprint to ship something. What can we build?"
- **Resources**: "We have one designer and two engineers."
- **Quality bar**: "It needs to work reliably but doesn't need to be beautiful."
- **Must-nots**: What's off the table?

### Phase 2: Divergent Thinking (20 min)

Use these techniques to generate ideas:

**SCAMPER**:
- **Substitute**: What can we replace?
- **Combine**: What can we merge?
- **Adapt**: What existing solution can we borrow?
- **Modify**: What can we change?
- **Put to other use**: Who else could use this?
- **Eliminate**: What can we remove?
- **Reverse**: What's the opposite?

**Crazy 8s**: Each person folds paper into 8 sections. Draw one idea per section, 60 seconds each. 8 ideas in 8 minutes.

**Worst Idea First**: What's the WORST way to solve this? Then invert it — the opposite is often creative.

**Analogy Thinking**: "How would [Amazon/Uber/Apple/Notion] solve this?"

### Phase 3: Capture Everything

- One idea per sticky note / card
- No judgment during divergence
- Wild ideas encouraged (they often spark practical ones)
- Aim for 20-40 ideas total

### Phase 4: Convergent Thinking (15 min)

1. **Cluster** related ideas into themes
2. **Dot vote**: Each person gets 3-5 votes
3. **Top ideas** get 3+ votes → move to prioritization
4. **Capture runner-ups** — they might be useful later

### Phase 5: Next Steps

For the top ideas:
1. Briefly describe each at a high level
2. Identify what assumptions need testing
3. Assign a "champion" to explore each idea further
4. Schedule a follow-up to converge on final selection

## Sample Output

**Problem**: Users don't reach the aha moment in our onboarding

**Technique: SCAMPER**
- Substitute: Replace tutorial with interactive product tour
- Combine: Onboarding + first workflow = "learn by doing"
- Adapt: Duolingo-style progressive disclosure
- Eliminate: Remove signup, let them use the product first
- Reverse: Don't onboard users — onboard their data first

**Top 3 ideas**: (1) Learn-by-doing template, (2) No-signup sandbox, (3) Personalized onboarding based on role

## Common Pitfalls

1. **Judging too early** — The "yes, but..." reflex kills creativity. Keep divergence and convergence separate
2. **Too many constraints** — No constraints = no focus. Too many constraints = no creativity. Find the balance
3. **Dominant voices** — The loudest person's ideas shouldn't win. Use dot voting or anonymous submission
4. **Skipping the "bad" ideas** — The worst idea often contains the seed of the best idea
5. **No follow-through** — Brainstorming without prioritization and action is just an interesting conversation

## Verification Checklist

- [ ] Constraints defined before ideation
- [ ] Divergent and convergent phases kept separate
- [ ] 20+ ideas generated
- [ ] Top ideas identified with dot voting
- [ ] Next steps assigned for each top idea

## Source & license

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

- **Author:** [uthumany](https://github.com/uthumany)
- **Source:** [uthumany/uthy-legacy-os](https://github.com/uthumany/uthy-legacy-os)
- **License:** MIT
- **Homepage:** https://uthumany.github.io/uthy-legacy-os/

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

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-uthumany-uthy-legacy-os-solution-brainstorming
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/uthumany
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.