Brainstorming Skill

Generate diverse perspectives through structured focus group sessions.

When to Use

• •User wants to explore an idea
• •Decision needs multiple viewpoints
• •Problem needs creative approaches
• •User says "brainstorm", "perspectives", "focus group", "what do you think about"

Session Types

Full Brainstorm (/brainstorm)

• •4-6 personas
• •2-3 discussion rounds
• •Full synthesis with insights
• •Storage offered

Best for: Important decisions, complex problems, strategic thinking

Quick Jam (/jam)

• •4 personas
• •1 round
• •Brief synthesis
• •No storage prompt

Best for: Quick decisions, gut checks, rapid exploration

Perspectives Only (/perspectives)

• •4-6 personas
• •1 round
• •No synthesis (user decides)
• •Raw viewpoints

Best for: Gathering input, self-directed thinking, discussion prep

Persona Design

Archetypes

Selection Principles

1. •Relevance: Choose personas that care about the topic
2. •Diversity: Cover multiple angles
3. •Genuine: Each has legitimate concerns (no strawmen)
4. •Buildable: Personas can respond to each other

Discussion Dynamics

Round 1: Initial Perspectives

Each persona shares their view:

• •Position on the topic
• •Key concern
• •Suggestion or consideration

Round 2: Building

Personas respond to each other:

• •Build on good ideas
• •Challenge assumptions
• •Find connections

Round 3: Convergence (optional)

Find common ground:

• •Agreements
• •Remaining tensions
• •Key tradeoffs

Synthesis Quality

Good synthesis:

• •3-5 insights (not 10)
• •Confidence levels (HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW)
• •Action items (prioritized)
• •Open questions (honest about unknowns)

Bad synthesis:

• •Just summarizing what personas said
• •Too many insights (information overload)
• •No confidence assessment
• •No actionable next steps

Integration

With wicked-mem

At session start:

if has_plugin("wicked-mem"):
    prior = recall(topic)
    inject_context(prior)

At session end:

if has_plugin("wicked-mem") and user_approves:
    store(insights, type="decision", tags=[topic])

With wicked-crew

Called during clarify phase to explore project approaches.

Output Structure

Put synthesis first (context efficiency):

## Brainstorm: {Topic}

### Key Insights
{Most important - read this first}

### Action Items
{What to do next}

### Open Questions
{What's unresolved}

---

### Session Details
{Personas, rounds, discussion summary}