jinyannan/ideation

Ideation

Turn ideas into validated designs. Three modes for different levels of confidence needed.

Mode Selection

| Mode | When to Use | Effort | |------|------------|--------| | Quick | Standalone idea generation, naming, brainstorming options | Low | | Collaborative | Before implementing features, components, or behavior changes | Medium | | Formal Review | High-stakes decisions requiring risk reduction and peer review | High |

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Mode 1: Quick Ideation (Gemini API)

Generate ideas systematically using structured techniques.

Prerequisites

pip install google-generativeai
export GEMINI_API_KEY=your_api_key

Techniques

Generate Ideas:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Generate 10 creative ideas for: [topic]
Requirements: mix conventional/unconventional, varying complexity, different perspectives, 2+ wild cards.
For each: brief description, key benefit, main challenge"

SCAMPER Method:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Apply SCAMPER to: [product/feature/process]
- Substitute: What can be replaced?
- Combine: What can be merged?
- Adapt: What can be modified?
- Modify/Magnify: What can be enlarged or emphasized?
- Put to other uses: What else could this be used for?
- Eliminate: What can be removed?
- Reverse/Rearrange: What can be reorganized?"

Six Thinking Hats:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Analyze using Six Thinking Hats:
DECISION: [what you're considering]
- White Hat (Facts): What do we know?
- Red Hat (Feelings): Gut reactions?
- Black Hat (Caution): What could go wrong?
- Yellow Hat (Optimism): Benefits?
- Green Hat (Creativity): Alternatives?
- Blue Hat (Process): Best approach?"

Reverse Brainstorming:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Reverse brainstorm: How could we make [goal] FAIL?
1. List ways to guarantee failure
2. Flip each into a success strategy
3. Identify hidden risks"

Constraint Removal:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Brainstorm without constraints:
PROBLEM: [your problem]
1. Unlimited budget? 2. No time limit? 3. Any technology? 4. No legacy?
Then: Which ideas can be scaled down to reality?"

Evaluate & Compare:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Evaluate ideas against criteria:
IDEAS: [list]
CRITERIA: Feasibility (1-5), Impact (1-5), Effort (1-5 lower=better), Risk (1-5 lower=better)
Create comparison matrix and recommend top choice."

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Mode 2: Collaborative Design (Before Implementation)

Help turn ideas into fully formed designs through natural dialogue. Use this before any creative work.

The Process

Understanding the idea:

• Check current project state first (files, docs, recent commits)
• Ask questions ONE AT A TIME to refine the idea
• Prefer multiple choice when possible
• Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria

Exploring approaches:

• Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs
• Lead with your recommended option and explain why

Presenting the design:

• Once you understand what you're building, present the design
• Break into sections of 200-300 words
• Ask after each section if it looks right
• Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing

After the Design

Documentation:

• Write validated design to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md
• Commit the design document

Implementation (if continuing):

• Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?"
• Use git worktrees for isolated workspace
• Create detailed implementation plan

Key Principles

• One question at a time — Don't overwhelm
• Multiple choice preferred — Easier to answer
• YAGNI ruthlessly — Remove unnecessary features
• Explore alternatives — Always 2-3 approaches before settling
• Incremental validation — Present in sections, validate each

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Mode 3: Formal Design Review (Multi-Agent)

Structured, sequential multi-agent review for high-confidence decisions. Prevents blind spots, false confidence, and premature convergence.

Operating Model

• One agent designs, others review
• No agent may exceed its mandate
• Creativity centralized, critique distributed
• Process is gated and terminates by design

Agent Roles

1. Primary Designer (Lead)

• Owns the design, runs collaborative ideation (Mode 2)
• Maintains Decision Log
• May NOT self-approve or ignore reviewer objections

2. Skeptic / Challenger

• Assumes design will fail. Why?
• Questions assumptions, identifies edge cases, flags YAGNI violations
• May NOT propose new features or redesign

3. Constraint Guardian

• Enforces: performance, scalability, reliability, security, maintainability, cost
• May reject designs violating constraints
• May NOT debate product goals or suggest features

4. User Advocate

• Represents end user: cognitive load, usability, clarity, error handling
• Flags confusing or misleading aspects
• May NOT redesign architecture or add features

5. Integrator / Arbiter

• Resolves conflicts, finalizes decisions, enforces exit criteria
• Accepts or rejects objections
• May NOT invent new ideas or add requirements

The Process

Phase 1 — Design: Primary Designer runs Mode 2 (collaborative). Initial design + Decision Log produced.

Phase 2 — Review: Agents invoked ONE AT A TIME: Skeptic → Constraint Guardian → User Advocate. Each provides scoped feedback. Designer responds to objections and updates Decision Log.

Phase 3 — Arbitration: Integrator reviews final design + Decision Log + unresolved objections. Explicitly accepts or rejects each objection with rationale.

Decision Log (Mandatory)

Must record: decision made, alternatives considered, objections raised, resolution and rationale.

Exit Criteria (Hard Stop)

ALL must be true:

• Understanding Lock completed
• All reviewer agents invoked
• All objections resolved or explicitly rejected
• Decision Log complete
• Arbiter declared design acceptable

Final disposition: APPROVED, REVISE, or REJECT with rationale.

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Best Practices

1. Quantity first — Generate many ideas before judging
2. Defer judgment — Don't critique during generation
3. Build on ideas — "Yes, and..." thinking
4. Embrace wild ideas — They often lead to practical ones
5. Set constraints — Limits boost creativity
6. Match mode to stakes — Quick for low-stakes, Formal for high-stakes