brainstorming

1# Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs
2 
3## Overview
4 
5Help turn ideas into fully formed designs and specs through natural collaborative dialogue.
6 
7Start by understanding the current project context, then ask questions one at a time to refine the idea. Once you understand what you're building, present the design and get user approval.
8 
9<HARD-GATE>
10Do NOT invoke any implementation skill, write any code, scaffold any project, or take any implementation action until you have presented a design and the user has approved it. This applies to EVERY project regardless of perceived simplicity.
11</HARD-GATE>
12 
13## Anti-Pattern: "This Is Too Simple To Need A Design"
14 
15Every project goes through this process. A todo list, a single-function utility, a config change — all of them. "Simple" projects are where unexamined assumptions cause the most wasted work. The design can be short (a few sentences for truly simple projects), but you MUST present it and get approval.
16 
17## Checklist
18 
19You MUST create a task for each of these items and complete them in order:
20 
211. **Explore project context** — check files, docs, recent commits
222. **Ask clarifying questions** — one at a time, understand purpose/constraints/success criteria
233. **Propose 2-3 approaches** — with trade-offs and your recommendation
244. **Present design** — in sections scaled to their complexity, get user approval after each section
255. **Write design doc** — save to `docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md` and commit
26…