brainstorming

Brainstorming

Structured idea exploration from vague to direction, in two paths — greenfield from a blank problem space, relentless against existing thinking. Both run breadth-first: surface the non-obvious option before committing, then converge honestly, naming what each direction gives up. Problem before solution — a description of what to build is a hypothesis, not a direction.

Workflow

trigger → detect path → discover → diverge → converge → capture
              ^________________________________|  (if no viable direction)

Detect path from entry state — greenfield when no concrete idea is present, relentless when an idea or plan exists regardless of maturity. Discover maps the problem space. Diverge generates alternatives. Converge evaluates trade-offs and picks a direction. Capture produces the artifact.

References

• Discovery (any entry) → discovery.md
• Diverge (after discovery gate) → diverge.md
• Converge (after 4+ alternatives) → converge.md
• Capture (after user approves direction) → capture.md

Workflow always starts with discovery. Load each reference when its phase begins.

Guidelines

• Generate at least 4 alternatives during diverge, including non-obvious options
• Challenge every alternative with trade-offs during converge
• Require explicit user approval before capturing the direction
• Mark unknowns as TBD rather than inventing constraints
• Stay at the problem-and-direction level; defer implementation choices

Anti-Pattern: Premature Convergence

Stopping at 2-3 obvious alternatives skips the value of brainstorming. The non-obvious option is often the one worth choosing — or the one that reframes the problem. When pressure to commit shows up early, push for breadth first; converge only after the space has been explored.

Anti-Pattern: Hidden Trade-offs

Recommending a direction without surfacing what it costs misleads the user. Every recommendation must name the gain and the give-up explicitly. If a trade-off feels too small to mention, it probably isn't.

Anti-Pattern: Solution-First Discovery

In greenfield, when the user describes what to build before why, discovery has not happened — they have a hypothesis. Redirect to the problem before generating alternatives. Without grounded motivation, diverge produces options for an unverified target.

In relentless, the solution is the input by definition. Do not redirect — discovery maps the assumptions, dependencies, and signals behind the existing idea or plan so diverge can attack from grounded vectors.