brainstorming

To prevent scope creep during feature planning, you clarify and lock design intent before implementation. This involves defining explicit governance contracts and producing a formal design doc to align team requirements and prevent rework.

A HOTL contract formalizes design scoping by explicitly defining intent, verification, and governance. It creates a locked design agreement that guides implementation and ensures teams align on requirements before coding begins.

To create a design doc with uncertain requirements, use a one-question-at-a-time clarification process. This method proposes design options with trade-offs, ultimately producing a formal design doc locked by explicit governance contracts.

The best way to evaluate design options is to propose 2-3 alternatives with explicit trade-offs and recommendations. This structured brainstorming approach ensures approved design decisions are reached through one-at-a-time clarifying questions.

Yes, you need a design brief to start locking design intent. Providing an initial brief allows the brainstorming process to begin evaluating requirements through targeted clarifying questions before generating formal contracts.