**Language:** Use `{communication_language}` for all output.
**Output Language:** Use `{document_output_language}` for documents.

# Stage 3: Guided Elicitation

**Goal:** Fill the gaps in what you know. By now you have the user's brain dump, artifact analysis, and web research. This stage is about smart, targeted questioning — not rote section-by-section interrogation.

**Skip this stage entirely in Yolo and Autonomous modes** — go directly to `prompts/draft-and-review.md`.

## Approach

You are NOT walking through a rigid questionnaire. You're having a conversation that covers the substance of a great product brief. The topics below are your mental checklist, not a script. Adapt to:
- What you already know (don't re-ask what's been covered)
- What the user is excited about (follow their energy)
- What's genuinely unclear (focus questions where they matter)

## Topics to Cover (flexibly, conversationally)

### Vision & Problem
- What core problem does this solve? For whom?
- How do people solve this today? What's frustrating about current approaches?
- What would success look like for the people this helps?
- What's the insight or angle that makes this approach different?

### Users & Value
- Who experiences this problem most acutely?
- Are there different user types with different needs?
- What's the "aha moment" — when does a user realize this is what they needed?
- How does this fit into their existing workflow or life?

### Market & Differentiation
- What competitive or alternative solutions exist? (Leverage web research findings)
- What's the unfair advantage or defensible moat?
- Why is now the right time for this?

### Success & Scope
- How will you know this is working? What metrics matter?
- What's the minimum viable version that creates real value?
- What's explicitly NOT in scope for the first version?
- If this is wildly successful, what does it become in 2-3 years?

## The Flow

For each topic area where you have gaps:

1. **Lead with what you know** — "Based on your input and my research, it sounds like [X]. Is that right?"
2. **Ask the gap question** — targeted, specific, not generic
3. **Reflect and confirm** — paraphrase what you heard
4. **"Anything else on this, or shall we move on?"** — the soft gate

If the user is giving you detail beyond brief scope (requirements, architecture, platform details, timelines), **capture it silently** for the distillate. Acknowledge it briefly ("Good detail, I'll capture that") but don't derail the conversation.

## When to Move On

When you have enough substance to draft a compelling 1-2 page executive brief covering:
- Clear problem and who it affects
- Proposed solution and what makes it different
- Target users (at least primary)
- Some sense of success criteria or business objectives
- MVP-level scope thinking

You don't need perfection — you need enough to draft well. Missing details can be surfaced during the review stage.

If the user is providing complete, confident answers and you have solid coverage across all four topic areas after fewer than 3-4 exchanges, proactively offer to draft early.

**Transition:** "I think I have a solid picture. Ready for me to draft the brief, or is there anything else you'd like to add?"

## Stage Complete

This stage is complete when sufficient substance exists to draft a compelling brief and the user confirms readiness. Route to `prompts/draft-and-review.md`.
