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by Jesse Vincentobra/superpowers-skills748 stars
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Interactive idea refinement using Socratic method to develop fully-formed designs

  • 1 file
  • 2.8 KB
  • Updated last year
  • GitHub

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Use this Skill: https://skilld.dev/gh/obra/superpowers-skills/brainstorming

This session only. Nothing lands on disk.

SKILL.md

≈24 tokens always: the name and description. ≈660 when used: this file.

Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs

Overview

Transform rough ideas into fully-formed designs through structured questioning and alternative exploration.

Core principle: Ask questions to understand, explore alternatives, present design incrementally for validation.

Announce at start: "I'm using the Brainstorming skill to refine your idea into a design."

The Process

Phase 1: Understanding

  • Check current project state in working directory
  • Ask ONE question at a time to refine the idea
  • Prefer multiple choice when possible
  • Gather: Purpose, constraints, success criteria

Phase 2: Exploration

  • Propose 2-3 different approaches
  • For each: Core architecture, trade-offs, complexity assessment
  • Ask your human partner which approach resonates

Phase 3: Design Presentation

  • Present in 200-300 word sections
  • Cover: Architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
  • Ask after each section: "Does this look right so far?"

Phase 4: Worktree Setup (for implementation)

When design is approved and implementation will follow:

  • Announce: "I'm using the Using Git Worktrees skill to set up an isolated workspace."
  • Switch to skills/collaboration/using-git-worktrees
  • Follow that skill's process for directory selection, safety verification, and setup
  • Return here when worktree ready

Phase 5: Planning Handoff

Ask: "Ready to create the implementation plan?"

When your human partner confirms (any affirmative response):

  • Announce: "I'm using the Writing Plans skill to create the implementation plan."
  • Switch to skills/collaboration/writing-plans skill
  • Create detailed plan in the worktree

When to Revisit Earlier Phases

You can and should go backward when:

  • Partner reveals new constraint during Phase 2 or 3 → Return to Phase 1 to understand it
  • Validation shows fundamental gap in requirements → Return to Phase 1
  • Partner questions approach during Phase 3 → Return to Phase 2 to explore alternatives
  • Something doesn't make sense → Go back and clarify

Don't force forward linearly when going backward would give better results.

Related Skills

During exploration:

  • When approaches have genuine trade-offs: skills/architecture/preserving-productive-tensions

Before proposing changes to existing code:

  • Understand why it exists: skills/research/tracing-knowledge-lineages

Remember

  • One question per message during Phase 1
  • Apply YAGNI ruthlessly
  • Explore 2-3 alternatives before settling
  • Present incrementally, validate as you go
  • Go backward when needed - flexibility > rigid progression
  • Announce skill usage at start

Source: SKILL.md on GitHub

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Provenance

Signed by skilld at 3f80f1c. This ties the file your Agent reads to that commit on GitHub. It does not review the instructions.

Last checked against GitHub 2 months ago.

Dormantupdated last year

Capability

version
2.2.0
Other metadata
when_to_use
when partner describes any feature or project idea, before writing code or implementation plans

Topics

  • Design
  • brainstorming
  • requirements
  • socratic-method
  • architecture
  • planning
  • collaboration
  • idea-refinement

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What it does

Transforms rough ideas into fully-formed designs through structured questioning, exploring 2-3 alternatives, and validating incrementally. Implements a Socratic method across understanding, exploration, and design phases, then hands off to implementation planning and git worktrees for execution.

Generated from the current SKILL.md.

Frequently asked

When should I use this skill versus jumping straight to implementation?
Use it when your partner describes any feature or project idea, before writing code or implementation plans. It's designed to catch ambiguities and constraints early so implementation doesn't waste time on wrong assumptions.
Does this skill handle implementation, or just the design phase?
It handles design only. Once the design is approved, it hands off to the Using Git Worktrees skill for workspace setup, then to the Writing Plans skill for the implementation plan.
What if we discover new constraints halfway through the brainstorming?
Go backward to Phase 1 to understand the constraint. The skill explicitly encourages non-linear progression — flexibility beats rigid forward movement.
How many design alternatives should I explore?
Propose 2-3 different approaches in Phase 2, each with core architecture and trade-offs outlined, then ask which one resonates with your partner.

Generated from the current SKILL.md. These answers refresh after source changes.