AGENTS/skills/brainstorming/SKILL.md

name, description, compatibility

name	description	compatibility
brainstorming	General-purpose ideation and strategic thinking. Use when: (1) clarifying thoughts on any topic, (2) exploring options and trade-offs, (3) building strategies or plans, (4) making decisions with multiple factors, (5) thinking through problems. Triggers: brainstorm, think through, explore options, clarify, what are my options, help me decide, strategy for, how should I approach.	opencode

Brainstorming

General-purpose ideation for any domain: business decisions, personal projects, creative work, strategic planning, problem-solving. Not tied to software development.

Process

1. Understand Context

Start by understanding the situation:

• What's the situation? What triggered this thinking?
• What's the current state vs desired state?

Ask one question at a time. Prefer multiple choice when options are clear.

2. Clarify the Outcome

Before exploring solutions, clarify what success looks like:

• What would a good outcome enable?
• What would you be able to do that you can't now?
• Are there constraints on what "good" means?

3. Explore Constraints

Map the boundaries before generating options:

• Time: Deadlines, urgency, available hours
• Resources: Budget, people, skills, tools
• External: Dependencies, stakeholders, regulations
• Preferences: Non-negotiables vs nice-to-haves

4. Generate Options

Present 2-3 distinct approaches with trade-offs:

**Option A: [Name]**
- Approach: [Brief description]
- Pros: [Key advantages]
- Cons: [Key disadvantages]
- Best if: [When this option makes sense]

**Option B: [Name]**
...

**My recommendation**: Option [X] because [reasoning].

Lead with your recommendation but present alternatives fairly.

5. Validate Incrementally

Present thinking in 200-300 word sections. After each section, check:

• "Does this capture it correctly?"
• "Anything I'm missing?"
• "Should we go deeper on any aspect?"

Be ready to backtrack and clarify. Brainstorming is non-linear.

6. Capture Decision (Optional)

After reaching clarity, offer:

"Would you like me to save this brainstorm to Obsidian for reference?"

If yes, create a brainstorm note in Obsidian:

File: ~/CODEX/03-resources/brainstorms/YYYY-MM-DD-[topic].md

---
date: {{date}}
created: {{timestamp}}
type: brainstorm
framework: {{framework_used}}
status: {{draft|final|archived}}
tags: #brainstorm #{{framework_tag}}
---

# {{topic}}

## Context
{{situation and trigger}}

## Outcome
{{what success looks like}}

## Constraints
{{time, resources, boundaries}}

## Options Explored
{{options considered}}

## Decision
{{final choice}}

## Rationale
{{reasoning behind decision}}

## Next Steps
{{action items}}

---
*Created: {{timestamp}}*

Framework tags (use in tags: frontmatter):

• #pros-cons - Pros/Cons analysis
• #swot - Strategic SWOT assessment
• #5-whys - Root cause analysis
• #how-now-wow - Prioritization matrix
• #starbursting - Comprehensive exploration (6 questions)
• #constraint-mapping - Boundary analysis

Status tags (use in status: frontmatter):

• draft - Initial capture
• final - Decision made
• archived - No longer active

---

Template Setup

For a better editing experience, create a template in Obsidian:

1. Open Obsidian → ~/CODEX vault
2. Go to Content Model → Object Types → Brainstorm v2
3. Click Templates (top right) → Click + to create template
4. Name it "Brainstorm Session" and configure default fields:
   • Pre-populated structure matching the brainstorm workflow
   • Framework selector with options: None, Pros/Cons, SWOT, 5 Whys, How-Now-Wow, Starbursting, Constraint Mapping
   • Status selector with options: Draft, Final, Archived
5. Save the template - it will be available when creating new brainstorms

Key Principles

Principle	Why
One question at a time	Avoids overwhelming, gets better answers
Multiple choice preferred	Easier to respond, clarifies options
Domain-agnostic	Works for any topic, not just technical
YAGNI ruthlessly	Remove unnecessary scope from all explorations
Recommendation-first	Always lead with your suggested approach
Flexible	Go back and clarify when needed

When to Use Frameworks

For structured analysis, consult references/thinking-frameworks.md:

Situation	Framework
Binary decision (A or B, yes or no)	Pros/Cons
Strategic assessment	SWOT
Finding root cause	5 Whys
Prioritizing many ideas	How-Now-Wow Matrix
Comprehensive exploration	Starbursting (6 Questions)
Understanding boundaries	Constraint Mapping

Only suggest frameworks when they add value. Many brainstorms work fine with conversational exploration alone.

Example Session

User: "I'm not sure how to approach launching my new course"

AI: "Let me help you think through this. First, what kind of course is it 
and who's the target audience?"

User: "NixOS course for developers who want to learn Nix"

AI: "Got it. What does success look like for this launch?
a) Maximum enrollments in first week
b) Building long-term audience/community
c) Validating the content before wider release
d) Something else?"

User: "B - building community"

AI: "That shapes the approach. What's your timeline?
a) Ready to launch now
b) 2-4 weeks to prepare
c) Flexible, no deadline"

...continues with options and recommendation...

Handoff to Other Skills

After brainstorming, common next steps:

Output	Next Skill	Trigger
Project decision	plan-writing	"Create a project plan for this"
Task identified	task-management	"Add this to my tasks"
Work project	basecamp	"Set this up in Basecamp"

All handoffs can reference the Obsidian brainstorm note via WikiLinks or file paths.