Brainstorming

When to Use

• You have a vague idea and need to clarify goals, scope, and constraints before committing to a plan.
• You want to generate multiple solution directions for a problem and compare trade-offs.
• You need to break down a complex problem into smaller, actionable parts.
• You’re stuck and need alternative approaches, assumptions to challenge, or fresh angles.
• You want to converge from many ideas into a prioritized shortlist and define next steps.

Key Features

• Goal and boundary clarification (objectives, constraints, success criteria).
• Structured ideation to produce multiple distinct options.
• Problem decomposition into components, subproblems, and decision points.
• Evaluation and convergence (trade-offs, risks, feasibility, impact).
• Actionable next steps (experiments, prototypes, questions to validate).
• Reference workflow support via references/brainstorming-workflow.md.

Dependencies

• None

Example Usage

Prompt

I want to build a feature that helps users learn faster in our app, but I’m not sure what exactly to build.
Constraints: 2-week implementation, no new backend services, must work on mobile.
Goal: increase weekly retention.
Please brainstorm options, compare them, and recommend a direction with next steps.

Expected Output Structure (Runnable Template)

## 1) Clarify Goals & Boundaries
- Primary goal: increase weekly retention
- Constraints: 2-week build, no new backend services, mobile-first
- Success metrics: retention uplift, feature adoption, session frequency

## 2) Generate Options (Diverge)
1. **Spaced repetition reminders**
   - What it is: ...
   - Why it helps: ...
2. **Daily micro-challenges**
   - What it is: ...
   - Why it helps: ...
3. **Progress-based streaks + milestones**
   - What it is: ...
   - Why it helps: ...
4. **Personalized review queue (client-side)**
   - What it is: ...
   - Why it helps: ...

## 3) Compare & Evaluate
| Option | Effort | Risk | Expected impact | Notes |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---|
| Spaced repetition reminders | Medium | Low | Medium | ... |
| Daily micro-challenges | Medium | Medium | High | ... |
| Streaks + milestones | Low | Low | Medium | ... |
| Client-side review queue | Medium | Medium | Medium | ... |

## 4) Converge on a Recommendation
- Recommended direction: **Daily micro-challenges**
- Rationale: ...
- Key assumptions to validate: ...

## 5) Next Steps
- Prototype: ...
- Instrumentation: ...
- A/B test plan: ...
- Open questions: ...

Implementation Details

• Workflow: Follow the structured process described in references/brainstorming-workflow.md:

  1. Clarify goals, constraints, and success criteria.
  2. Diverge: generate multiple distinct options (avoid premature convergence).
  3. Decompose: break options into components and required decisions.
  4. Evaluate: compare trade-offs (impact, effort, risk, feasibility).
  5. Converge: select a direction and define concrete next steps.

• Core parameters to capture

  • Goal: what outcome to optimize (e.g., retention, cost, latency, satisfaction).
  • Constraints: time, budget, platform, compliance, dependencies.
  • Evaluation criteria: impact, effort, risk, reversibility, time-to-value.
  • Assumptions: what must be true for the chosen direction to work.
  • Next-step artifacts: shortlist, decision rationale, experiment plan, open questions.