sandgardenhq/brainstorming

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

IMPORTANT: Hand the control back to the human partner so they can feed you with information.

Phase 2: Exploration

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

IMPORTANT: Hand the control back to the human partner so they can feed you with information.

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?"

IMPORTANT: Hand the control back to the human partner so they can feed you with information.

Phase 4: Validation Criteria

After design is agreed upon, gather validation criteria for project-critic-council.

Ask these questions (each with escape hatch option):

1. Acceptance Criteria: "How will you know this feature is done?"
2. Test Requirements: "What tests should pass before completion?"
3. Evidence Requirements: "What proof do you need to see?"
4. Edge Cases: "What scenarios must work?"

Example:

sgai_ask_user_question({
  questions: [{
    question: "**Phase 4: Validation Criteria**\n\nHow will you know this feature is complete? What's the acceptance criteria?",
    choices: [
      "Tests pass and feature works as described",
      "I'll define specific criteria (describe in Other)",
      "Skip detailed validation - proceed with current understanding"
    ],
    multiSelect: false
  }]
})

IMPORTANT: Always include "Skip detailed validation" option to let users shorten the interview.

Log all validation criteria in @.sgai/PROJECT_MANAGEMENT.md under a ## Validation Criteria section.

IMPORTANT: Hand the control back to the human partner so they can feed you with information.

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
• Hand the control back to the human partner so they can feed you with information between phases
• Use sgai_ask_user_question tool to ask structured questions. Example:

  sgai_ask_user_question({
    questions: [{
      question: "Which approach do you prefer?",
      choices: ["Approach A", "Approach B", "Need more details"],
      multiSelect: false
    }]
  })
  

• You can ask multiple questions at once when they are independent:

  sgai_ask_user_question({
    questions: [
      {question: "Which database?", choices: ["PostgreSQL", "MySQL", "SQLite"], multiSelect: false},
      {question: "Which features to include?", choices: ["Auth", "Logging", "Metrics"], multiSelect: true}
    ]
  })
  

Question Protocol (MANDATORY)

When asking questions during brainstorming, you MUST follow this protocol to ensure the human partner sees the full context:

1. Log to .sgai/PROJECT_MANAGEMENT.md FIRST:

   • Write the question WITH its context to .sgai/PROJECT_MANAGEMENT.md
   • Include: Current phase, what you're trying to understand, the question itself

2. Embed context IN the question field:

   • The question parameter in sgai_ask_user_question MUST include the full context
   • Bad: "Which database?"
   • Good: "**Phase 1: Understanding**\n\nI need to understand your data persistence needs to design the architecture.\n\nWhich database do you prefer?"

3. Terminal output continues as normal (this already works)

• Log all your decisions in @.sgai/PROJECT_MANAGEMENT.md