Ideation

Turn ideas into validated designs. Three modes for different levels of confidence needed.

Mode Selection

Mode	When to Use	Effort
Quick	Standalone idea generation, naming, brainstorming options	Low
Collaborative	Before implementing features, components, or behavior changes	Medium
Formal Review	High-stakes decisions requiring risk reduction and peer review	High

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Mode 1: Quick Ideation (Gemini API)

Generate ideas systematically using structured techniques.

Prerequisites

pip install google-generativeai
export GEMINI_API_KEY=your_api_key

Techniques

Generate Ideas:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Generate 10 creative ideas for: [topic]
Requirements: mix conventional/unconventional, varying complexity, different perspectives, 2+ wild cards.
For each: brief description, key benefit, main challenge"

SCAMPER Method:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Apply SCAMPER to: [product/feature/process]
- Substitute: What can be replaced?
- Combine: What can be merged?
- Adapt: What can be modified?
- Modify/Magnify: What can be enlarged or emphasized?
- Put to other uses: What else could this be used for?
- Eliminate: What can be removed?
- Reverse/Rearrange: What can be reorganized?"

Six Thinking Hats:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Analyze using Six Thinking Hats:
DECISION: [what you're considering]
- White Hat (Facts): What do we know?
- Red Hat (Feelings): Gut reactions?
- Black Hat (Caution): What could go wrong?
- Yellow Hat (Optimism): Benefits?
- Green Hat (Creativity): Alternatives?
- Blue Hat (Process): Best approach?"

Reverse Brainstorming:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Reverse brainstorm: How could we make [goal] FAIL?
1. List ways to guarantee failure
2. Flip each into a success strategy
3. Identify hidden risks"

Constraint Removal:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Brainstorm without constraints:
PROBLEM: [your problem]
1. Unlimited budget? 2. No time limit? 3. Any technology? 4. No legacy?
Then: Which ideas can be scaled down to reality?"

Evaluate & Compare:

gemini -m pro -o text -e "" "Evaluate ideas against criteria:
IDEAS: [list]
CRITERIA: Feasibility (1-5), Impact (1-5), Effort (1-5 lower=better), Risk (1-5 lower=better)
Create comparison matrix and recommend top choice."

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Mode 2: Collaborative Design (Before Implementation)

Help turn ideas into fully formed designs through natural dialogue. Use this before any creative work.

The Process

Understanding the idea:

• Check current project state first (files, docs, recent commits)
• Ask questions ONE AT A TIME to refine the idea
• Prefer multiple choice when possible
• Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria

Exploring approaches:

• Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs
• Lead with your recommended option and explain why

Presenting the design:

• Once you understand what you're building, present the design
• Break into sections of 200-300 words
• Ask after each section if it looks right
• Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing

After the Design

Documentation:

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

Implementation (if continuing):

• Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?"
• Use git worktrees for isolated workspace
• Create detailed implementation plan

Key Principles

• One question at a time — Don't overwhelm
• Multiple choice preferred — Easier to answer
• YAGNI ruthlessly — Remove unnecessary features
• Explore alternatives — Always 2-3 approaches before settling
• Incremental validation — Present in sections, validate each

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Mode 3: Formal Design Review (Multi-Agent)

Structured, sequential multi-agent review for high-confidence decisions. Prevents blind spots, false confidence, and premature convergence.

Operating Model

• One agent designs, others review
• No agent may exceed its mandate
• Creativity centralized, critique distributed
• Process is gated and terminates by design

Agent Roles

1. Primary Designer (Lead)

• Owns the design, runs collaborative ideation (Mode 2)
• Maintains Decision Log
• May NOT self-approve or ignore reviewer objections

2. Skeptic / Challenger

• Assumes design will fail. Why?
• Questions assumptions, identifies edge cases, flags YAGNI violations
• May NOT propose new features or redesign

3. Constraint Guardian

• Enforces: performance, scalability, reliability, security, maintainability, cost
• May reject designs violating constraints
• May NOT debate product goals or suggest features

4. User Advocate

• Represents end user: cognitive load, usability, clarity, error handling
• Flags confusing or misleading aspects
• May NOT redesign architecture or add features

5. Integrator / Arbiter

• Resolves conflicts, finalizes decisions, enforces exit criteria
• Accepts or rejects objections
• May NOT invent new ideas or add requirements

The Process

Phase 1 — Design: Primary Designer runs Mode 2 (collaborative). Initial design + Decision Log produced.

Phase 2 — Review: Agents invoked ONE AT A TIME: Skeptic → Constraint Guardian → User Advocate. Each provides scoped feedback. Designer responds to objections and updates Decision Log.

Phase 3 — Arbitration: Integrator reviews final design + Decision Log + unresolved objections. Explicitly accepts or rejects each objection with rationale.

Decision Log (Mandatory)

Must record: decision made, alternatives considered, objections raised, resolution and rationale.

Exit Criteria (Hard Stop)

ALL must be true:

• Understanding Lock completed
• All reviewer agents invoked
• All objections resolved or explicitly rejected
• Decision Log complete
• Arbiter declared design acceptable

Final disposition: APPROVED, REVISE, or REJECT with rationale.

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Best Practices

1. Quantity first — Generate many ideas before judging
2. Defer judgment — Don't critique during generation
3. Build on ideas — "Yes, and..." thinking
4. Embrace wild ideas — They often lead to practical ones
5. Set constraints — Limits boost creativity
6. Match mode to stakes — Quick for low-stakes, Formal for high-stakes