| Guide ID | SS-7 |
|---|---|
| Audience | All users, Project managers |
| Prerequisites | GS-2: Core Concepts |
| Time | 15 minutes |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
Brainstorm System
The Brainstorm system provides structured creative exploration within gsd-skill-creator. Ideas are valuable, but unstructured ideas can derail active work, create scope creep, and disappear into forgotten conversations. The Brainstorm system captures ideas without disrupting current workflows, matures them through a defined progression, and integrates them into the GSD lifecycle when they are ready for execution. It bridges the gap between creative inspiration and disciplined project management.
What is Brainstorm?
Brainstorm is gsd-skill-creator's answer to a common problem: you are deep in Phase 3 execution when a brilliant idea for Phase 7 strikes. Without a capture mechanism, you either chase the idea (breaking focus and risking scope creep) or try to remember it (and likely forget). Brainstorm provides a third option: capture the idea immediately in a structured format, then return to your current work with zero context disruption.
The system integrates with GSD at every level. Ideas captured during brainstorming sessions are stored as todos that can be reviewed, prioritized, and eventually promoted into roadmap phases. The suggestion pipeline feeds detected patterns from session observations into the brainstorm queue, creating a feedback loop where the system's learning informs future ideation. And the vision-to-mission skill provides a structured framework for developing raw ideas into executable project plans.
Brainstorm Workflow
The brainstorm workflow follows four stages, each with clear entry criteria and outputs:
Stage 1: Idea Capture
When an idea emerges during any work session, capture it immediately using /gsd:add-todo. This command parks the idea as a todo item with a brief description and optional context tags. The key principle is speed: capture enough information to reconstruct the idea later, but do not develop it now. A good capture is one sentence that answers "what" and "why" -- the "how" comes later.
Example captures:
- "Add export-to-PDF for planning dashboards -- teachers need printable progress reports"
- "Explore WebSocket integration for real-time skill activation notifications"
- "Consider adding a visual diff viewer for skill refinement proposals"
Captured ideas are stored in the project's todo list within .planning/STATE.md, where they persist across sessions and context resets. They do not interfere with the current roadmap or active phase execution.
Stage 2: Review and Prioritize
Periodically review captured ideas using /gsd:check-todos. This command presents all pending todos with their capture context and timestamps. During review, each idea receives one of three dispositions:
- Promote -- The idea has merit and should be developed further. It moves to the "discuss" stage.
- Defer -- The idea is valid but not timely. It stays in the todo list for future review.
- Dismiss -- The idea was captured in the heat of the moment but does not warrant further investment. It is archived for reference but removed from the active list.
Stage 3: Develop Through Discussion
Promoted ideas enter the GSD discussion phase via /gsd:discuss-phase. This is where a raw idea transforms into a concrete vision. Discussion captures requirements, constraints, dependencies, and success criteria. It explores the problem space before committing to a solution. The output of discussion is a PROJECT.md-style vision document that articulates what the idea is, why it matters, what constraints apply, and what success looks like.
Discussion is the most critical stage for idea quality. An idea that skips discussion and jumps directly to planning often results in wasted effort -- the plan solves the wrong problem or misses key constraints. The brainstorm system enforces discussion as a prerequisite for planning, ensuring that every idea receives adequate exploration before resources are committed.
Stage 4: Integrate Into Roadmap
Discussed ideas that survive scrutiny are integrated into the project roadmap. This can take several forms depending on scope:
- New phase -- Use
/gsd:add-phaseto append the idea as a new phase at the end of the current milestone roadmap. - Inserted phase -- Use
/gsd:insert-phaseto add the idea between existing phases when it has dependencies or time sensitivity, without renumbering existing phases. - New milestone -- Use
/gsd:new-milestonewhen the idea is large enough to warrant its own milestone with independent roadmap, requirements, and phase structure. - Quick task -- Use
/gsd:quickwhen the idea turned out to be a simple enhancement that can be executed immediately without phase-level planning.
Suggestion Pipeline
The suggestion pipeline is the automated complement to manual brainstorming. While brainstorming captures ideas from human creativity, the suggestion pipeline captures ideas from observed patterns.
During work sessions, skill-creator's observation system records patterns to .planning/patterns/sessions.jsonl: tool sequences that repeat, file patterns touched during specific phases, commands run after failures, and corrections the user makes to agent output. When the pattern detection system identifies a recurring pattern (3 or more occurrences), it generates a suggestion.
The skill-creator suggest command presents pending suggestions with their confidence scores and supporting evidence. Each suggestion follows the same Accept/Defer/Dismiss workflow as manually captured ideas. Accepted suggestions can become new skills (codifying the detected pattern) or brainstorm items (ideas for workflow improvements that require further development).
The suggestion pipeline respects the bounded learning guardrails described in SS-2: HALT & CLEAR Safety Systems. Suggestions are never auto-applied. Every suggestion requires explicit user confirmation before any action is taken. This ensures that the system's pattern detection serves the user rather than driving the project's direction autonomously.
GSD Lifecycle Integration
The brainstorm system maps naturally to the GSD lifecycle. Ideas flow through a maturity progression that mirrors the lifecycle stages:
| Idea Maturity | GSD Stage | Command |
|---|---|---|
| Captured | Todo | /gsd:add-todo |
| Reviewed | Prioritized | /gsd:check-todos |
| Discussed | Vision defined | /gsd:discuss-phase |
| Planned | Roadmap phase | /gsd:plan-phase |
| Executed | Built and verified | /gsd:execute-phase |
This progression ensures that ideas earn their way into the roadmap through demonstrated value at each stage. An idea that cannot survive discussion does not consume planning effort. An idea that cannot produce a viable plan does not consume execution effort. The brainstorm system acts as a funnel that filters creative abundance into focused delivery.
Vision-to-Mission as Ideation Tool
The vision-to-mission skill provides a structured template for evolving raw ideas into executable project plans. When an idea is promoted from brainstorm to discussion, the vision-to-mission framework guides the exploration through a series of questions:
- Vision -- What does the world look like when this idea is realized? What problem does it solve? Who benefits?
- Mission -- What specific, measurable outcomes would demonstrate success? What is the minimum viable implementation?
- Constraints -- What technical, resource, or time constraints limit the solution space? What dependencies exist?
- Requirements -- What must the implementation do? What must it not do? What quality attributes matter?
- Risks -- What could go wrong? What unknowns need research? What assumptions need validation?
The output of the vision-to-mission process is a structured document that can be fed directly into /gsd:new-project or /gsd:new-milestone, bypassing the initial questioning phase because the brainstorm process has already answered those questions. This creates a smooth pipeline from creative ideation through structured analysis to disciplined execution.
Best Practices
- Capture aggressively, promote conservatively. Record every idea that sparks interest, but only promote ideas that survive a review cycle. Most ideas are better than forgetting them but worse than building them.
- Time-box discussion. Discussion is valuable but can become procrastination. Set a time limit for discussion and either promote to planning or defer the idea when time expires.
- Review todos regularly. Stale todos lose context. Review at the start of each new session or milestone to keep the list fresh and relevant.
- Use suggestions as conversation starters. Pattern-based suggestions are observations, not directives. Use them to spark discussion about workflow improvements rather than applying them mechanically.
- Do not bypass the funnel. The temptation to jump directly from idea to execution is strong, especially for small ideas. Use
/gsd:quickfor genuinely trivial tasks, but respect the brainstorm workflow for anything that touches the roadmap.
What's Next
- GS-2: Core Concepts -- Understand the GSD lifecycle that brainstorm feeds into
- T-9: Pattern Discovery -- Learn how session observations drive the suggestion pipeline
- UG-2: Skill Workflows -- Convert brainstorm ideas into reusable skills