AGENTS/skill/brainstorming/references/thinking-frameworks.md

# Thinking Frameworks

Use these when structured analysis adds value. Not every brainstorm needs a framework.

## Pros/Cons Analysis

**Best for**: Binary decisions (do X or not, choose A or B)

| Option | Pros | Cons |
|--------|------|------|
| Option A | + Advantage 1 | - Disadvantage 1 |
|          | + Advantage 2 | - Disadvantage 2 |
| Option B | + Advantage 1 | - Disadvantage 1 |
|          | + Advantage 2 | - Disadvantage 2 |

**Tips**:
- Weight factors by importance if not all equal
- Consider: Which cons are dealbreakers?
- Ask: What would make each option clearly better?

## SWOT Analysis

**Best for**: Strategic assessment of a situation, project, or decision

|          | Helpful | Harmful |
|----------|---------|---------|
| **Internal** | **Strengths** | **Weaknesses** |
|          | What advantages do we have? | What could we improve? |
|          | What do we do well? | Where do we lack resources? |
| **External** | **Opportunities** | **Threats** |
|          | What trends could we exploit? | What obstacles exist? |
|          | What gaps can we fill? | What is competition doing? |

**Action mapping**:
- Build on strengths
- Address or mitigate weaknesses
- Capture opportunities
- Defend against threats

## 5 Whys

**Best for**: Finding root cause of a problem

**Process**:
1. **State the problem**: [What's happening?]
2. **Why?** → [First answer]
3. **Why?** → [Dig deeper]
4. **Why?** → [Keep going]
5. **Why?** → [Getting closer]
6. **Why?** → [Root cause]

**Tips**:
- Stop when you reach something actionable
- May take fewer or more than 5 iterations
- Multiple branches possible (multiple "whys" at each level)

**Example**:
```
Problem: Course launch didn't meet enrollment targets

Why? → Not enough people saw the launch
Why? → Email list is small
Why? → Haven't been building audience consistently
Why? → No content publishing schedule
Why? → Haven't prioritized content creation
→ Root cause: Need to establish content rhythm before next launch
```

## How-Now-Wow Matrix

**Best for**: Prioritizing many ideas by feasibility and innovation

|                    | Hard to Implement | Easy to Implement |
|--------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
| **Innovative**     | HOW (future investment) | WOW (prioritize these!) |
| **Conventional**   | Why bother? | NOW (quick wins) |

**Quadrant actions**:
- **WOW**: Innovative + Easy = Do these first, high impact
- **NOW**: Conventional + Easy = Quick wins, do soon
- **HOW**: Innovative + Hard = Save for later, plan carefully
- **Why bother?**: Conventional + Hard = Probably skip

## Starbursting (6 Questions)

**Best for**: Comprehensive exploration of an idea or decision

Start with the idea in the center, then explore each question branch:

### Who?
- Who is affected?
- Who will execute?
- Who decides?
- Who are stakeholders?

### What?
- What exactly are we doing?
- What's the scope?
- What's the deliverable?
- What resources needed?

### When?
- When does it start?
- When are milestones?
- When is the deadline?
- When do we review?

### Where?
- Where does this happen?
- Where are resources?
- Where will it be deployed/shared?

### Why?
- Why are we doing this?
- Why now?
- Why this approach?
- Why does it matter?

### How?
- How will we execute?
- How will we measure success?
- How do we handle failures?
- How do we communicate progress?

## Constraint Mapping

**Best for**: Understanding boundaries before generating solutions

| Category | Constraints | Flexible? |
|----------|-------------|-----------|
| **Time** | Deadline, available hours | |
| **Budget** | Money available, cost limits | |
| **Resources** | People, skills, tools | |
| **Technical** | Platform, compatibility, performance | |
| **External** | Regulations, dependencies, stakeholders | |
| **Preferences** | Must-haves, nice-to-haves | |

**For each constraint, note**:
- Is it truly fixed or negotiable?
- What would change if we relaxed it?
- Are there creative workarounds?

## When NOT to Use Frameworks

Skip frameworks when:
- The decision is simple or obvious
- Conversational exploration is working well
- Time is very limited
- The user just needs to talk through it

**Default to conversation.** Suggest frameworks only when they'd genuinely help structure complex thinking.