brainstorm-design

Grounding codebase refactor brainstorming in existing specs and invariants ensures design options align with current system rules. This approach inventories existing behavior matrices and institutional knowledge before proposing 2–4 distinct, viable design directions.

Substrate-grounded design exploration automatically inventories a codebase's existing context, including specs, invariants, and gotchas, before generating architecture options. This mechanism ensures proposed changes maintain cohesion with existing system constraints rather than producing incoherent designs.

Evaluating architecture changes involves pressure-testing 2–4 credible design options against a 25-question battery covering cohesion, future fit, and risk. This structured evaluation recommends a single design direction with its main risk and structural mitigation explicitly identified.

Substrate-grounded design brainstorming requires integration with a substrate discovery workflow to inventory existing codebase context. You need existing specs, invariants, behavior matrices, and institutional knowledge available to produce aligned, viable design options.

Validating design options against existing invariants requires pressure-testing each proposed change through a structured 25-question battery. This process checks cohesion, risk, and future fit before recommending a design direction, ensuring implementation aligns with codebase constraints.

Automated design brainstorming is not suitable when a substrate discovery workflow cannot inventory existing codebase context. Without access to existing specs, invariants, and behavior matrices, the tool cannot produce viable design options aligned with system constraints.