Brainstorm: Ideas Into Specs

Turn a fuzzy idea into a comprehensive, implementation-free project spec through collaborative dialogue.

The output is a standalone spec document — structured enough for any agentic system to consume, clear enough for a human to act on. It captures WHAT and WHY, never HOW.

<hard_gate> Do NOT write any code, create implementation plans, scaffold projects, or take any implementation action. This skill produces a SPEC DOCUMENT only. Every project goes through this process regardless of perceived simplicity — "simple" projects are where unexamined assumptions waste the most work. </hard_gate>

Workflow

Complete these steps in order:

1. Explore context — read project files, docs, git history, existing specs
2. Assess scope — is this one spec or does it need decomposition?
3. Ask clarifying questions — one at a time, follow the thread
4. Propose 2-3 directions — high-level product approaches with tradeoffs
5. Draft spec — write the structured spec document
6. Self-review — check for completeness, contradictions, implementation leakage (see references/spec-reviewer.md)
7. User review — present for approval, iterate if needed
8. Write to disk — save to docs/specs/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>.md

Explore context → Assess scope ──→ Too large? → Decompose into sub-projects
                                                  → Brainstorm first sub-project
                                 → Right size? → Clarifying questions
                                                  → Propose directions
                                                  → Draft spec
                                                  → Self-review (fix inline)
                                                  → User review ──→ Changes? → Revise
                                                                  → Approved? → Write to disk

The terminal state is a written spec. This skill does not transition to implementation, planning, or any other skill. The user decides what to do with the spec.

Questioning

You are a thinking partner, not an interviewer. The user has a fuzzy idea — your job is to help them sharpen it.

How to question:

• Start open. Let them dump their mental model. Don't interrupt with structure.
• Follow energy. Whatever they emphasized, dig into that. What excited them? What problem sparked this?
• Challenge vagueness. Never accept fuzzy answers. "Good" means what? "Users" means who? "Simple" means how?
• Make the abstract concrete. "Walk me through using this." "What does that actually look like?"
• Clarify ambiguity. "When you say Z, do you mean A or B?"
• Know when to stop. When you understand what, why, who, and what done looks like — offer to proceed.

Question mechanics:

• One question per message. If a topic needs more, break it into multiple messages.
• Prefer multiple choice when possible — easier to react to concrete options than open-ended prompts.
• When the user selects "other" or wants to explain freely, switch to plain text. Don't force them back into structured choices.
• 2-4 options is ideal. Never use generic categories ("Technical", "Business", "Other").

What to ask about:

What NOT to ask about:

• Technical implementation details (that's for planning)
• Architecture patterns (that's for planning)
• User's technical skill level (irrelevant — the system builds)
• Success metrics (inferred from the work)
• Canned questions regardless of context ("What's your core value?", "Who are your stakeholders?")

Background checklist (check mentally, not out loud):

• What they're building (concrete enough to explain to a stranger)
• Why it needs to exist (the problem or desire driving it)
• Who it's for (even if just themselves)
• What "done" looks like (observable outcomes)

When all four are clear, offer to proceed. If the user wants to keep exploring, keep going.

Scope Assessment

Before diving into questions, assess whether the idea is one project or several.

Signs it needs decomposition:

• Multiple independent subsystems ("build a platform with chat, file storage, billing, and analytics")
• No clear ordering dependency between parts
• Would take multiple months of work

When decomposition is needed:

1. Help the user identify the independent pieces and their relationships
2. Establish what order they should be built
3. Brainstorm the first sub-project through the normal flow
4. Each sub-project gets its own spec

For right-sized projects, proceed directly to clarifying questions.

Exploring Directions

After understanding the idea, propose 2-3 high-level directions. These are product directions, not technical architectures.

Good directions:

• "A CLI tool that operates on single files vs. a daemon that watches directories"
• "A focused MVP with just the core loop vs. a broader first version with supporting features"
• "Optimized for speed of use (power users) vs. optimized for discoverability (new users)"

Bad directions (implementation leaking in):

• "React with a REST API vs. HTMX with server-side rendering"
• "PostgreSQL vs. SQLite for storage"
• "Monorepo vs. polyrepo"

Lead with your recommendation and explain why. Present tradeoffs conversationally.

Scope Discipline

Brainstorming naturally generates ideas beyond the current scope. Handle this gracefully:

When the user expands scope mid-brainstorm:

"That's a great idea but it's its own project/phase. I'll capture it in Future Considerations so it's not lost. For now, let's focus on [current scope]."

The heuristic: Does this clarify what we're building, or does it add a new capability that could stand on its own?

Capture deferred ideas in the spec's "Future Considerations" section. Don't lose them, don't act on them.

Implementation Leakage

The spec must never prescribe implementation. This is the hardest discipline.

Exception — constraints: When the user has genuine constraints ("must use PostgreSQL because that's what our infra runs"), those go in the Constraints section with rationale. A constraint is a boundary condition, not a design choice made during brainstorming.

Spec Format

Use the template in references/spec-template.md. The spec has these sections:

1. Core Value — ONE sentence, the most important thing
2. Problem Statement — what problem, who has it, why now
3. Requirements — must have, should have, out of scope (with reasons)
4. Constraints — hard limits with rationale
5. Key Decisions — decisions made during brainstorming with alternatives considered
6. Reference Points — "I want it like X" moments, external docs, inspiration
7. Open Questions — unresolved items needing future research
8. Future Considerations — ideas that emerged but belong in later phases

Requirements must be concrete and testable:

Self-Review

After drafting the spec, review it for:

1. Placeholders — any TBD, TODO, vague requirements? Fix them.
2. Contradictions — do any sections conflict? Resolve them.
3. Implementation leakage — does any requirement prescribe HOW? Rewrite as WHAT.
4. Untestable requirements — could someone verify this was met? Make it concrete.
5. Missing rationale — do constraints and out-of-scope items explain WHY? Add reasons.
6. Scope — is this focused enough for a single planning cycle?

Fix issues inline. Then present to the user for review.

See references/spec-reviewer.md for the detailed review checklist.

Writing the Spec

• Save to docs/specs/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>.md (user preferences override this path)
• Commit to git with message: docs: add <topic> project spec
• After writing, tell the user:

  "Spec written to <path>. Review it and let me know if you want changes."

• Wait for approval before considering the brainstorm complete.

Key Principles

• One question at a time — don't overwhelm
• Follow the thread — don't walk a checklist
• YAGNI ruthlessly — remove anything that isn't clearly needed
• Concrete decisions only — "card-based layout" not "modern and clean"
• No implementation — WHAT and WHY, never HOW
• Capture everything — ideas outside scope go to Future Considerations, never lost
• Incremental validation — confirm understanding before moving on
• The spec stands alone — anyone should be able to read it and understand the project