Stats
Actions
Tags
From dev-workflow
You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying behavior. Explores user intent, requirements and design before implementation.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/dev-workflow:brainstormingThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
**No implementation without design dialogue first.**
No implementation without design dialogue first.
When faced with creative work (new features, components, behavior changes), you must understand the problem deeply before jumping to solutions. Design emerges through conversation, not upfront specification.
Never present a list of questions. Each question is an opportunity to learn and adjust the next question based on the answer.
Good:
What's the primary goal of this feature?
A) Enable users to export data
B) Provide admin oversight
C) Integrate with external system
D) Other (please describe)
Bad:
I need to understand:
1. What's the primary goal?
2. Who are the users?
3. What are the constraints?
4. How does this integrate?
5. What's the timeline?
Reduce user typing burden. Offer options based on common patterns, always include "Other" as escape hatch.
Structure:
Each answer shapes the next question. Don't follow a rigid script. Adapt based on what you learn.
Flow:
Build the design in digestible chunks. After each section, pause for validation.
Section 1: Problem Statement
Validation: "Does this accurately capture the problem you're trying to solve?"
Section 2: Proposed Solution
Validation: "Does this direction align with your vision?"
Section 3: Technical Design
Validation: "Any technical concerns or missing pieces?"
Section 4: Implementation Notes
Validation: "Anything we should prioritize or defer?"
docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md
Topic should be kebab-case, descriptive. Examples:
2026-01-27-user-export-feature-design.md2026-01-27-admin-dashboard-redesign.md2026-01-27-payment-integration-design.mdQuestions to explore:
Checkpoint: You understand the "why" behind the work.
Questions to explore:
Checkpoint: Multiple options identified, tradeoffs clear.
Build the document section by section:
Checkpoint: Complete design document saved to docs/plans/.
Chain to related skills:
Should we set up an isolated workspace for this work?
A) Yes - use git worktrees for clean separation
B) No - work directly in current branch
If A: Chain to dev-workflow:using-git-worktrees
Then:
Ready to create implementation plan?
This will break the design into concrete tasks with verification steps.
Chain to dev-workflow:writing-plans
Always use for:
Use when requirements are:
Skip when:
Chains to dev-workflow:using-git-worktrees:
Chains to dev-workflow:writing-plans:
Works with dev-workflow:implementer:
❌ Asking multiple questions at once (overwhelming) ❌ Open-ended questions when multiple choice would work (too much typing) ❌ Writing full design without validation (wasted effort) ❌ Skipping problem exploration and jumping to solution ❌ Not documenting the design (context loss) ❌ Continuing to implementation without user sign-off
✅ Problem is clearly understood and documented ✅ Multiple solution approaches were considered ✅ Design choices have clear rationale (tradeoffs) ✅ User validated each section before continuing ✅ Complete design saved to docs/plans/ ✅ Clear path to implementation (chained to worktrees/planning)
USER: "I want to add user exports to the admin panel"
ASSISTANT: Let me understand what you're trying to accomplish.
What's the primary goal of this export feature?
A) Enable admins to audit user activity
B) Provide data portability for users
C) Generate reports for compliance
D) Other (please describe)
USER: "A - audit user activity"
ASSISTANT: Got it, auditing focus.
What format would be most useful for admins?
A) CSV (spreadsheet-compatible)
B) JSON (programmatic processing)
C) PDF (human-readable report)
D) Multiple formats (let admin choose)
USER: "A - CSV is fine"
ASSISTANT: Perfect, CSV keeps it simple.
Should this export:
A) All users (full database dump)
B) Filtered subset (search/filter first)
C) Single user (from user detail page)
D) Multiple options above
USER: "B - filtered subset"
ASSISTANT: Makes sense, working with existing filters.
[Continue dialogue, then...]
I'll now write up the Problem Statement section:
---
**Problem Statement**
Admins need to export filtered user lists as CSV for audit purposes.
Currently, they must manually copy data from the UI table, which is
error-prone and limited by pagination. This blocks quarterly compliance
reviews where admins must analyze user activity patterns across hundreds
of users.
**Who experiences it:** Admin users performing audits/compliance reviews
**Why it matters:** Manual data collection is time-consuming and creates
compliance risk if data is incomplete or incorrect.
**Current workaround:** Copy-paste from UI table, limited to current page
---
Does this accurately capture the problem you're trying to solve?
USER: "Yes, that's right"
ASSISTANT: Great. Now for the Proposed Solution...
[Continue through all sections, validate each, then save]
Design complete! I've saved it to:
docs/plans/2026-01-27-admin-user-export-design.md
Should we set up an isolated workspace for this work?
A) Yes - use git worktrees for clean separation
B) No - work directly in current branch
Guides creation, editing, and verification of skills for AI coding agents using test-driven development with subagent scenarios. Use when authoring or debugging skills.
npx claudepluginhub tombakerjr/claude-code-workflows --plugin dev-workflow