sr-brainstorm

Goal: fully understand the project before a single word of spec is written. Do NOT write spec, plan, or SRS in this session.

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Step 0 — Topic Intake

Receive topic from user. Do NOT ask questions yet.

Identify:

• Domain (e-commerce | healthcare | fintech | SaaS | internal tool | mobile | other)
• Scale signals (MVP | startup | enterprise | unknown)
• Any constraints already mentioned

Echo back:

Topic:   {topic}
Domain:  {domain}
Scale:   {scale}
Slug:    {kebab-case name for projects/{slug}/}

Confirm slug with user before proceeding. If topic is too vague to form a slug, ask.

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Step 1 — Load Domain Questions

Load .codex/skills/srs-workflow/references/brainstorm-guide.md. Select the question bank matching the detected domain.

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Step 2 — Round 1: Actors & Users

Ask the user with concrete role options (not open-ended).

Ask about:

• Primary end users (with examples from the domain)
• Secondary users / supporting roles
• Admin / back-office roles
• External systems / third-party integrations

Wait for answer. Record each confirmed actor as:

[ACTOR] {name}: {description} | access level: {read/write/admin}

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Step 3 — Round 2: Core Features

Ask the user. Present a feature checklist derived from domain + topic.

For each feature cluster offer sub-options. Example for e-commerce:

• Authentication: (A) email+password (B) OAuth (C) both (D) SSO enterprise
• Catalogue: (A) simple products (B) configurable SKUs (C) bundles (D) subscriptions

Mark each selection as [CONFIRMED]. Infer likely missing features — ask to confirm or reject.

Wait for answer.

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Step 4 — Round 3: Scope Boundary

Ask the user. Present a two-column table:

IN Scope (proposed)	OUT Scope (proposed)
{feature A}	{feature X}

Ask user to move items between columns or add new ones.

HARD BLOCK: Do not proceed without explicit in/out boundary confirmed by user.

Wait for answer.

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Step 5 — Round 4: Technical Constraints

Ask the user:

• Tech stack (present common options for the domain)
• Hosting (cloud provider / on-premise / hybrid)
• Existing systems to integrate (with yes/no options)
• Security & compliance (GDPR | HIPAA | PCI-DSS | SOC2 | none)
• Performance targets (show numeric examples: < 200ms | < 500ms | < 1s)
• Timeline / budget signals

Wait for answer.

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Step 6 — Round 5: Business Rules & Edge Cases

Ask the user:

• Roles and permissions model (RBAC | ABAC | simple owner/member | custom)
• Data ownership and retention rules
• Key failure scenarios the system must handle gracefully
• Pricing / billing logic (if applicable)
• Regulatory requirements beyond what's already captured

Wait for answer.

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Step 7 — Completeness Check

After Round 5, self-check against this list. Any gap = add a follow-up question NOW:

• Every actor has name + description + access level
• Every feature in IN scope has been confirmed (not just inferred)
• OUT scope list is explicit (minimum 3 items)
• At least one numeric NFR target per: Performance / Availability / Security
• At least one business rule per feature cluster
• Compliance requirements stated (even if "none")
• Integration points listed (even if "none")

If ANY box is unchecked: ask a targeted follow-up round before proceeding.

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Step 8 — Save Brainstorm Output

Write projects/{slug}/brainstorm.md:

# Brainstorm: {project name}
Date: {date}

## Topic
{user's original topic verbatim}

## Domain / Scale
{domain} / {scale}

## Actors
{list with [ACTOR] entries}

## Confirmed Features (IN Scope)
{confirmed list}

## OUT of Scope
{explicit list}

## Technical Constraints
{answers from Round 4}

## Business Rules
{answers from Round 5}

## NFR Baselines
{confirmed numeric targets, or [TBD] with context}

## Open Items
{anything still unresolved — will become [TBD] tags in spec}

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Step 9 — Handoff

Output:

Brainstorm complete.

Project: {name}   Slug: {slug}
Actors:  {count}
Features confirmed (IN scope): {count}
OUT scope items: {count}
Open items: {count}

Saved: projects/{slug}/brainstorm.md

Next: $sr-spec → writes the full spec from this brainstorm