/brainstorm - Multi-Perspective Idea Analysis

Analyze ideas through three distinct lenses: challenging assumptions (devil's advocate), finding opportunities (optimist), and assessing feasibility (pragmatist).

Usage

/brainstorm "your idea or proposal"
/brainstorm --quick "brief idea"     # Single-pass analysis (default)
/brainstorm --deep "complex idea"    # Full 3-agent debate with synthesis

Workflow

Phase 1: Clarification (2-4 questions)

Before analysis, ask focused clarifying questions:

• •What problem does this solve?
• •Who is the target user/audience?
• •What does success look like?
• •Any constraints (time, budget, technical)?

Wait for user responses before proceeding.

Phase 2: Research Routing (if --deep mode)

Determine what research would help the analysis:

Use Tavily when:

• •Need current market data or trends
• •Looking for competitor analysis
• •Seeking recent news or developments

Use Context7 when:

• •Need library/framework documentation
• •Looking for implementation patterns
• •Seeking technical best practices

Use Obsidian vault when:

• •User has prior notes on related topics
• •Building on previous brainstorms
• •Connecting to existing projects

Phase 3: Three-Perspective Analysis

Quick Mode (default)

Provide a single comprehensive analysis covering all three perspectives in one pass.

Deep Mode (--deep flag)

Spawn three parallel agents using the Task tool:

Task(subagent_type="general-purpose", model="haiku", description="Devils advocate analysis", prompt="...")
Task(subagent_type="general-purpose", model="haiku", description="Optimist analysis", prompt="...")
Task(subagent_type="general-purpose", model="haiku", description="Pragmatist analysis", prompt="...")

Alternatively, invoke the dedicated debate agents:

• •@devils-advocate - Challenges assumptions, identifies risks
• •@optimist - Finds opportunities, expands possibilities
• •@pragmatist - Grounds in reality, focuses on execution

Phase 4: Synthesis

Use Sequential Thinking MCP (mcp__sequential-thinking__sequentialthinking) to:

1. •Identify points of consensus across perspectives
2. •Highlight productive tensions and trade-offs
3. •Extract actionable insights
4. •Propose decision framework
5. •Recommend next steps

Phase 5: Output

Generate structured output:

# [Idea Name] - Brainstorm Analysis

## Summary
[One paragraph synthesis]

## Perspectives

### Devil's Advocate
- [Risk/Challenge 1]
- [Risk/Challenge 2]
- [Hidden assumption]

### Optimist
- [Opportunity 1]
- [Opportunity 2]
- [Best-case scenario]

### Pragmatist
- [Feasibility assessment]
- [Resource requirements]
- [MVP recommendation]

## Decision Factors

[Mermaid mindmap diagram if complex]

## Synthesis
[Integrated recommendation balancing all perspectives]

## Next Steps
- [ ] Action item 1
- [ ] Action item 2
- [ ] Action item 3

Phase 6: Obsidian Save (if available)

If obsidian-brain MCP is connected, offer to save:

• •Location: Project Ideas/[Idea Name].md
• •Tags: #brainstorm, #idea, relevant domain tags
• •Backlinks: Connect to related previous brainstorms

Perspective Guidelines

Devil's Advocate

Focus on:

• •What could go wrong?
• •What assumptions are being made?
• •What are the hidden costs?
• •Who might oppose this?
• •What's the worst-case scenario?
• •What are competitors doing?

Tone: Skeptical but constructive. Challenge to strengthen, not to dismiss.

Optimist

Focus on:

• •What's the best-case outcome?
• •What adjacent opportunities exist?
• •What strengths can be leveraged?
• •What makes this timing right?
• •What could this enable in the future?
• •Who would love this?

Tone: Enthusiastic but grounded. Find genuine upside, not false hope.

Pragmatist

Focus on:

• •What's the minimum viable version?
• •What resources are required?
• •What's a realistic timeline?
• •What are the dependencies?
• •What's the first concrete step?
• •How do we measure success?

Tone: Practical and action-oriented. Focus on shipping, not perfection.

Mode Comparison

Integration

This skill works best with:

• •Sequential Thinking MCP: For synthesis and structured reasoning
• •Tavily MCP: For market research and current information
• •Context7 MCP: For technical documentation lookup
• •Obsidian Brain MCP: For saving brainstorms and connecting knowledge