brainstorming

Start by exploring the current project context, then answer clarifying questions one at a time about purpose, constraints, and success criteria. The process proposes 2-3 approaches with trade-offs, presents the design in sections for approval, and writes it to a dated design doc.

A design-first workflow requires clarifying requirements, comparing approaches, and getting explicit design approval before any code is written. This Skill enforces that gate with a checklist covering context exploration, questioning, approach proposals, and design documentation.

Yes, every project goes through the process regardless of perceived simplicity. The design can be just a few sentences for simple work, but it must still be presented and approved before implementation begins.

Approved designs are written to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md and committed to git. Only after this documentation step does the workflow transition to creating a detailed implementation plan.

The process is designed to apply universally, but it adds overhead when you only need a trivial mechanical change with zero ambiguity. Even then, the skill recommends a short design rather than skipping validation entirely.