What are 'immutable requirements' in this context?

These are core project constraints and success criteria defined during the design phase that serve as a contract during execution to ensure the final output matches the validated intent.

Can I skip the questioning phase if I'm in a hurry?

Yes, for important but non-critical questions, you can reply 'defaults' to quickly accept all recommended best-practice options suggested by the AI.

Why does the skill only create the first task instead of a full backlog?

It follows an iterative approach where subsequent tasks are created based on learnings from previous ones, preventing the 'stale task' problem in complex development.

When should I use the brainstorming skill?

Use it at the very start of a new feature or whenever you have a rough idea that lacks clear technical requirements, architecture, or implementation patterns.

How does this skill interact with my existing codebase?

It dispatches specialized agents like the codebase-investigator to find existing patterns, ensuring your new design is consistent with your current architecture.

Brainstorming & Design Strategy

Name: Brainstorming & Design Strategy
Author: withzombies

bywithzombies

•

Productivity & Workflow

Refines rough ideas into validated technical designs and immutable requirements before any code is written.

The Brainstorming skill transforms vague feature requests into robust architectural blueprints by employing a Socratic discovery process and deep codebase research. It ensures that both developers and AI agents avoid the pitfalls of premature implementation by establishing immutable epic requirements, identifying forbidden anti-patterns, and proposing multiple technical approaches with clear trade-offs. By validating the design through iterative feedback and initiating only the first concrete task, it creates a structured transition from abstract concepts to production-ready code.

Key Features

0158 GitHub stars

02Anti-Pattern Prevention: Explicitly defines forbidden coding patterns to ensure security, consistency, and performance.

03Architectural Trade-offs: Proposes multiple implementation paths with detailed pros, cons, and recommended defaults.

04Multi-Agent Research: Dispatches specialized tools to investigate internal codebase patterns and external API documentation.

05Socratic Discovery: Uses structured questioning to extract critical requirements and user preferences.

06Immutable Epics: Generates rigid design contracts that prevent scope creep and requirement drift.

Use Cases

01Standardizing project requirements and success criteria to align team expectations.

02Developing complex new features where the architectural path or data flow is initially unclear.

03Exploring third-party integrations and external libraries before committing to a specific implementation.

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add withzombies/hyperpowers brainstorming

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill