Brainstorming

Brainstorming & Communication Protocol

MANDATORY: Use for complex/vague requests, new features, updates.

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🛑 SOCRATIC GATE (ENFORCEMENT)

When to Trigger

🧠 Memory Check (2026.5.13 — Before Questioning)

Before asking questions, check if past context exists:

0. CHECK MEMORY — Does .agents/memory/MEMORY.md exist?
   → YES: Read index. Apply relevant past decisions silently.
          Skip questions already answered in memory.
   → NO: Proceed with standard Socratic Gate.

🚫 MANDATORY: 3 Questions Before Implementation

1. STOP - Do NOT start coding 2. CHECK - Read .agents/memory/ for past context on this topic 3. ASK - Minimum 3 questions (skip any already answered via memory):

• 🎯 Purpose: What problem are you solving?
• 👥 Users: Who will use this?
• 📦 Scope: Must-have vs nice-to-have?

4. WAIT - Get response before proceeding 5. SAVE - After brainstorming, save key decisions: /remember [decision]

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🧠 Dynamic Question Generation

⛔ NEVER use static templates. Read dynamic-questioning.md for principles.

Core Principles

Question Generation Process

1. Parse request → Extract domain, features, scale indicators
2. Identify decision points → Blocking vs. deferable
3. Generate questions → Priority: P0 (blocking) > P1 (high-leverage) > P2 (nice-to-have)
4. Format with trade-offs → What, Why, Options, Default

Question Format (MANDATORY)

### [PRIORITY] **[DECISION POINT]**

**Question:** [Clear question]

**Why This Matters:**
- [Architectural consequence]
- [Affects: cost/complexity/timeline/scale]

**Options:**
| Option | Pros | Cons | Best For |
|--------|------|------|----------|
| A | [+] | [-] | [Use case] |

**If Not Specified:** [Default + rationale]

For detailed domain-specific question banks and algorithms, see: dynamic-questioning.md

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Progress Reporting (PRINCIPLE-BASED)

PRINCIPLE: Transparency builds trust. Status must be visible and actionable.

Status Board Format

Status Icons

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Error Handling (PRINCIPLE-BASED)

PRINCIPLE: Errors are opportunities for clear communication.

Error Response Pattern

1. Acknowledge the error
2. Explain what happened (user-friendly)
3. Offer specific solutions with trade-offs
4. Ask user to choose or provide alternative

Error Categories

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Completion Message (PRINCIPLE-BASED)

PRINCIPLE: Celebrate success, guide next steps.

Completion Structure

1. Success confirmation (celebrate briefly)
2. Summary of what was done (concrete)
3. How to verify/test (actionable)
4. Next steps suggestion (proactive)

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Communication Principles

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Anti-Patterns (AVOID)

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Dynamic Question Generation

PRINCIPLE: Questions are not about gathering data—they are about revealing architectural consequences.

>

Every question must connect to a concrete implementation decision that affects cost, complexity, or timeline.

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🧠 Core Principles

1. Questions Reveal Consequences

A good question is not "What color do you want?" but:

❌ BAD: "What authentication method?"
✅ GOOD: "Should users sign up with email/password or social login?

   Impact:
   - Email/Pass → Need password reset, hashing, 2FA infrastructure
   - Social → OAuth providers, user profile mapping, less control

   Trade-off: Security vs. Development time vs. User friction"

2. Context Before Content

First understand where this request fits:

3. Minimum Viable Questions

PRINCIPLE: Each question must eliminate a fork in the implementation road.

Before Question:
├── Path A: Do X (5 min)
├── Path B: Do Y (15 min)
└── Path C: Do Z (1 hour)

After Question:
└── Path Confirmed: Do X (5 min)

If a question doesn't reduce implementation paths → DELETE IT.

4. Questions Generate Data, Not Assumptions

❌ ASSUMPTION: "User probably wants Stripe for payments"
✅ QUESTION: "Which payment provider fits your needs?

   Stripe → Best documentation, low per-transaction fee, US-centric
   LemonSqueezy → Merchant of Record, higher fee, handles global taxes
   Paddle → Merchant of Record, handles EU VAT, enterprise focus"

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📋 Question Generation Algorithm

INPUT: User request + Context (greenfield/feature/refactor/debug)
│
├── STEP 1: Parse Request
│   ├── Extract domain (ecommerce, auth, realtime, cms, etc.)
│   ├── Extract features (explicit and implied)
│   └── Extract scale indicators (users, data volume, frequency)
│
├── STEP 2: Identify Decision Points
│   ├── What MUST be decided before coding? (blocking)
│   ├── What COULD be decided later? (deferable)
│   └── What has ARCHITECTURAL impact? (high-leverage)
│
├── STEP 3: Generate Questions (Priority Order)
│   ├── P0: Blocking decisions (cannot proceed without answer)
│   ├── P1: High-leverage (affects >30% of implementation)
│   ├── P2: Medium-leverage (affects specific features)
│   └── P3: Nice-to-have (edge cases, optimization)
│
└── STEP 4: Format Each Question
    ├── What: Clear question
    ├── Why: Impact on implementation
    ├── Options: Trade-offs (not just A vs B)
    └── Default: What happens if user doesn't answer

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🎯 Domain-Specific Question Banks

E-Commerce

Authentication

Real-time

Content/CMS

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📐 Dynamic Question Template

Based on your request for [DOMAIN] [FEATURE]:

## 🔴 CRITICAL (Blocking Decisions)

### 1. **[DECISION POINT]**

**Question:** [Clear, specific question]

**Why This Matters:**
- [Explain architectural consequence]
- [Affects: cost / complexity / timeline / scale]

**Options:**
| Option | Pros | Cons | Best For |
|--------|------|------|----------|
| A | [Advantage] | [Disadvantage] | [Use case] |
| B | [Advantage] | [Disadvantage] | [Use case] |

**If Not Specified:** [Default choice + rationale]

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## 🟡 HIGH-LEVERAGE (Affects Implementation)

### 2. **[DECISION POINT]**
[Same format]

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## 🟢 NICE-TO-HAVE (Edge Cases)

### 3. **[DECISION POINT]**
[Same format]

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🔄 Iterative Questioning

First Pass (3-5 Questions)

Focus on blocking decisions. Don't proceed without answers.

Second Pass (After Initial Implementation)

As patterns emerge, ask:

• "This feature implies [X]. Should we handle [edge case] now or defer?"
• "We're using [Pattern A]. Should [Feature B] follow the same pattern?"

Third Pass (Optimization)

When functionality works:

• "Performance bottleneck at [X]. Optimize now or acceptable for now?"
• "Refactor [Y] for maintainability or ship as-is?"

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🎭 Example: Full Question Generation

USER REQUEST: "Build an Instagram clone"

STEP 1: Parse
├── Domain: Social Media
├── Features: Photo sharing, engagement (likes/comments), user profiles
├── Implied: Feed, following, authentication
└── Scale: Potentially high (social apps go viral)

STEP 2: Decision Points
├── Blocking: Storage strategy, authentication method, feed type
├── High-leverage: Real-time notifications, data model complexity
└── Deferable: Analytics, advanced search, reels/video

STEP 3: Generate Questions (Priority)

P0 (Blocking):
1. Storage Strategy → Affects architecture, cost, speed
2. Feed Algorithm → Affects database queries, complexity
3. Auth Method → Affects dev time, UX, security

P1 (High-leverage):
4. Real-time Notifications → WebSocket vs polling
5. Media Processing → Client-side vs server-side optimization

P2 (Deferable):
6. Story/Reels → Major feature creep, defer to v2
7. DM/Chat → Separate subsystem, defer to v2

STEP 4: Format Output

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📊 Generated Output (Example)

Based on your Instagram clone request:

## 🔴 CRITICAL DECISIONS (Cannot Proceed Without Answers)

### 1. **Photo Storage Strategy**

**Question:** Where will user photos be stored and served?

**Why This Matters:**
- Affects: Monthly hosting costs, page load speed, CDN complexity
- High-volume social apps: 1000 users × 10 photos × 2MB = 20GB storage

**Options:**
| Option | Cost model | Speed | Complexity | Best For |
|--------|-----------|-------|------------|----------|
| **Cloudinary** | Per-tier subscription | Fast (CDN) | Low | MVP, rapid launch |
| **AWS S3 + CloudFront** | Pay per GB stored/served | Fast (CDN) | Medium | Production, cost-optimized |
| **Supabase Storage** | Free tier + usage | Medium | Low | Small scale, simple |
| **Local Storage** | Server cost | Slow | Low | Development only |

**If Not Specified:** Cloudinary (balanced for MVP)

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### 2. **Feed Algorithm Choice**

**Question:** How should the main feed work?

**Why This Matters:**
- Affects: Database query complexity, caching strategy, development time
- Algorithmic feeds require ML infrastructure, ranking signals

**Options:**
| Option | Complexity | Database Impact | Best For |
|--------|------------|-----------------|----------|
| **Chronological** | Low | Simple query | Early stage, transparency |
| **Follow-Only** | Medium | JOIN with pagination | Most social apps |
| **Algorithmic** | High | Pre-computed feed tables | Instagram competitor |

**If Not Specified:** Follow-Only (balanced for social app)

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### 3. **Authentication Approach**

**Question:** How do users sign up and login?

**Why This Matters:**
- Affects: Development effort, security posture, UX friction

**Options:**
| Option | Effort | Security | UX | Best For |
|--------|--------|----------|-----|----------|
| **Email/Password** | Higher | High (if 2FA) | Medium | Full control needed |
| **Social Only** | Low | Provider-dependent | Smooth | B2C, rapid launch |
| **Magic Link** | Medium | Medium | Very smooth | Security-focused |
| **Clerk/Auth0** | Lowest | High | Smooth | Fastest to market |

**If Not Specified:** Clerk (fastest for MVP)

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## 🟡 HIGH-LEVERAGE (Affects Architecture)

### 4. **Real-time Notifications**

**Question:** Do users need instant notifications for likes/comments?

**Why This Matters:**
- WebSocket adds infrastructure complexity (Redis pub/sub for scaling)
- Polling is simpler but higher latency

**Options:**
| Option | Complexity | Scale Cost | Best For |
|--------|------------|------------|----------|
| **WebSocket + Redis** | High | $10+/mo | >1000 concurrent users |
| **Polling (30s)** | Low | DB queries | <1000 users |
| **No Real-time** | None | None | MVP, validate first |

**If Not Specified:** Polling for MVP (defer WebSocket until validated)

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## 🟢 NICE-TO-HAVE (Defer to v2)

### 5. **Video/Reels Support**
- Major complexity (video processing, streaming infrastructure)
- Recommendation: Launch with photos only, add video after validation

### 6. **Direct Messaging**
- Separate subsystem (chat infrastructure different from feed)
- Recommendation: Use Pusher/Stream for real-time or defer entirely

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## 📋 Summary

| Decision | Recommendation | If Changed |
|----------|----------------|------------|
| Storage | Cloudinary | +3 hrs setup |
| Feed | Follow-only | +2 hrs query optimization |
| Auth | Clerk | -3 hrs dev time |
| Real-time | Polling | +5 hrs WebSocket setup |
| Video | Defer to v2 | N/A |
| DM | Defer to v2 | N/A |

**Scope:** MVP covers the must-haves above; Video and DM deferred to v2.

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🎯 Principles Recap

1. Every question = Architectural decision → Not data gathering 2. Show trade-offs → User understands consequences 3. Prioritize blocking decisions → Cannot proceed without 4. Provide defaults → If user doesn't answer, we proceed anyway 5. Domain-aware → Ecommerce questions ≠ Auth questions ≠ Real-time questions 6. Iterative → More questions as patterns emerge during implementation