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brainstorming

Guides product or engineering ideas to an approved design specification.

6|Updated Mar 21, 2026

Search Tags:#brainstorming #implementation planning #requirements #spec writing #design specification #approval gate #architecture options

Ready to run

npx skills add https://github.com/caitengwei/my-skills --skill brainstorming-caitengwei

💬 Prompt for ChatGPT / Claude Chat▼

Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: brainstorming
Source: https://github.com/caitengwei/my-skills/tree/main/superpowers/skills/brainstorming
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/caitengwei/my-skills --skill brainstorming-caitengwei

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes scripts (resource) components.

What problem does it solve?

It prevents wasted engineering effort by forcing early, user-approved design thinking before any code or scaffolding begins.

Core Features & Use Cases

Context exploration: Reviews the current project state (files, docs, recent commits) to ground the design.
Guided clarification: Asks one clarifying question at a time to refine purpose, constraints, and success criteria.
Design proposal with approval gates: Presents 2–3 approaches, then a structured design, pausing for user approval before proceeding.
Design documentation & planning transition: Writes a design spec to docs/superpowers/specs/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md, commits it, performs a self-review, requests user review of the written spec, and only then transitions to implementation planning via writing-plans.
Hard safety gate: Explicitly forbids invoking any implementation skills, writing code, scaffolding, or taking implementation actions until design approval is complete.
Optional visual companion: Offers a browser tool for visual questions (mockups, diagrams) without mixing it into clarifying questions.

Quick Start

Use the brainstorming skill for your next feature request and tell the user that no implementation action will start until a written design spec is approved.

Frequently Asked Questions about brainstorming

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema

How do I turn a product idea into a design specification before writing code?▼

To turn a product idea into a design specification, use a guided brainstorming process that explores project context, asks clarifying questions one at a time, and proposes architectural approaches with trade-offs. This produces a user-approved design specification before implementation begins.

What is the best way to prevent wasted engineering effort during feature definition?▼

Preventing wasted engineering effort during feature definition requires a hard approval gate that forbids code writing or scaffolding until a structured design specification is written, self-reviewed, and explicitly approved by the user.

How do I create and review architectural options for a new feature?▼

Creating architectural options involves reviewing current project files and commits, refining constraints through iterative clarification, and presenting 2–3 structured design approaches with clear trade-offs for user review before generating the final spec.

Does this design specification process allow implementation planning to start immediately?▼

No, the design specification process explicitly forbids invoking implementation planning, writing code, or scaffolding until the design document is written to the prescribed path, self-reviewed, and receives final user approval.

Can I generate visual mockups during the requirements clarification process?▼

Yes, you can generate visual mockups and diagrams using an optional browser tool companion during requirements clarification, ensuring visual questions remain separate from the text-based iterative design approval flow.

Where are design specifications saved before transitioning to implementation planning?▼

Design specifications are saved to docs/superpowers/specs/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md. After committing the file, a self-review and user review must pass before transitioning to implementation planning via writing-plans.