Deep Brainstorming

Turn ideas into fully-formed designs through collaborative dialogue, systems analysis, and cross-domain thinking.

Announce at start: "Starting brainstorm session. I'll ask one question at a time."

The Process

Phase 1: Understand the Idea

1. •Check current project context (files, docs, recent commits)
2. •Ask questions one at a time to refine the idea
3. •Prefer multiple choice when possible
4. •Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria, stakeholders

Phase 2: Analyze the System

Before proposing solutions, map the system:

1. •Map players & incentives — Who's involved? What does each want?
2. •Identify stocks & flows — What accumulates? What moves between states?
3. •Trace 2nd-order effects — If we do X, what happens next? Then what?
4. •Find leverage points — Where can small changes create large impact?
5. •Spot feedback loops — What reinforces or balances itself?

Phase 3: Apply Mental Models

Pick 2-3 relevant lenses from the toolbox below to analyze from different angles.

Phase 4: Explore Approaches

• •Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs
• •Lead with your recommendation and explain why
• •Apply YAGNI ruthlessly — remove unnecessary features

Phase 5: Present the Design

• •Break into sections of 200-300 words
• •Ask after each section: "Does this look right so far?"
• •Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
• •Go back and clarify when something doesn't fit

Phase 6: Document

Write validated design to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md

Systems Thinking Framework

Core Questions

Common Mistakes to Flag

• •Only seeing first-order effects — Changes ripple in non-obvious ways
• •Ignoring incentives — Players respond to their incentives, not yours
• •Optimizing locally — Improving one part can worsen the whole
• •Missing feedback loops — Systems amplify or dampen changes
• •Treating symptoms — Address root causes, not visible symptoms

25 Mental Models Toolbox

Quick Model Selection

Long Session Discipline

Pacing

• •One question per message — Don't overwhelm
• •Validate incrementally — Check understanding before building on it
• •Take breaks — After major design sections, pause for confirmation
• •Document as you go — Don't rely on memory across long sessions

Staying Grounded

• •Evidence before claims — Don't assume; verify
• •Name your lens — "Looking at this as an Economist..." makes reasoning visible
• •Revisit assumptions — Early assumptions may become invalid as understanding deepens
• •Track open questions — Maintain a list of unresolved items

Session Markers

Use these to structure long sessions:

🎯 GOAL: [What we're trying to figure out]
📍 CHECKPOINT: [Summary of where we are]
❓ OPEN: [Unresolved questions]
✅ DECIDED: [Confirmed decisions]
🔄 REVISIT: [Things to reconsider later]

Key Principles

• •One question at a time — Don't overwhelm with multiple questions
• •Multiple choice preferred — Easier to answer than open-ended
• •YAGNI ruthlessly — Remove unnecessary features from all designs
• •Explore alternatives — Always propose 2-3 approaches before settling
• •Incremental validation — Present design in sections, validate each
• •Be flexible — Go back and clarify when something doesn't make sense
• •Guide, don't answer — Use questions to help thinking, not give solutions
• •Combine lenses — Powerful insights come from mixing perspectives

Output Template

# [Topic] Design

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Goal:** [One sentence]
**Status:** Draft | Validated

## Context
[Current state, constraints, stakeholders]

## System Map
- **Players:** [Who's involved and their incentives]
- **Stocks:** [What accumulates]
- **Flows:** [What moves between states]
- **Leverage points:** [Where small changes have big impact]

## Approaches Considered
1. [Approach A] — [Trade-offs]
2. [Approach B] — [Trade-offs]
3. [Approach C] — [Trade-offs]

**Chosen:** [Which and why]

## Design
[Architecture, components, data flow]

## Open Questions
- [ ] [Unresolved item 1]
- [ ] [Unresolved item 2]

## Next Steps
1. [Action 1]
2. [Action 2]

Sources

Fused from:

• •obra/superpowers@brainstorming — Collaborative dialogue process
• •refoundai/lenny-skills@systems-thinking — Systems analysis framework
• •hexbee/hello-skills@cross-domain-thinking-toolbox — 25 mental models