BMAD-METHOD/.claude/data/brainstorming-techniques.md

# Brainstorming Techniques for Enterprise Development

## Creative Expansion Techniques

### 1. What If Scenarios
Ask one provocative question, get response, then ask another:
- "What if this had unlimited budget?"
- "What if security wasn't a concern?" 
- "What if users were technical experts?"
- "What if this needed to work offline?"

### 2. Analogical Thinking  
Give one example analogy, ask for 2-3 more:
- "This system is like a library checkout system because..."
- "User authentication is like hotel key cards because..."
- "Data flow is like a restaurant kitchen because..."

### 3. Reversal/Inversion
Pose the reverse question:
- "How would we make this completely unusable?"
- "What would cause maximum security vulnerabilities?"
- "How could we ensure the worst user experience?"

### 4. First Principles Thinking
Break down to fundamentals:
- "What are the core user needs?"
- "What are the essential data flows?"
- "What are the minimum technical requirements?"

## Structured Frameworks

### 5. SCAMPER Method
Go through one letter at a time:
- **Substitute**: What can be substituted?
- **Combine**: What can be combined?
- **Adapt**: What can be adapted?
- **Modify**: What can be modified?
- **Put to other uses**: What other uses?
- **Eliminate**: What can be eliminated?
- **Reverse**: What can be reversed?

### 6. Six Thinking Hats
Present one hat at a time:
- **White Hat**: Facts and information
- **Red Hat**: Emotions and feelings
- **Black Hat**: Critical judgment
- **Yellow Hat**: Positive assessment
- **Green Hat**: Creative alternatives
- **Blue Hat**: Process control

### 7. Mind Mapping
Start with central concept, suggest branches:
- Core functionality branches
- User type branches
- Technical component branches
- Integration point branches

## Collaborative Techniques

### 8. "Yes, And..." Building
Alternate building on ideas:
- User suggests feature
- Orchestrator "yes and" adds enhancement
- User "yes and" adds complexity
- Continue building

### 9. Brainwriting/Round Robin
Build on each other's ideas:
- One party suggests base concept
- Other party builds enhancement
- First party adds implementation detail
- Continue developing

### 10. Random Stimulation
Give random prompt/word, make connections:
- "Coffee shop" → How does this relate to user onboarding?
- "Garden hose" → How does this inform data flow design?
- "School bell" → How does this apply to notifications?

## Deep Exploration

### 11. Five Whys
Ask "why" and wait for answer before next "why":
- Why do users need this feature?
- Why is that important to them?
- Why does that matter for their work?
- Why is their work structured that way?
- Why hasn't this been solved before?

### 12. Morphological Analysis
List parameters first, then explore combinations:
- User types × Access methods × Data sources × Output formats
- Explore unusual combinations for innovation opportunities

### 13. Provocation Technique (PO)
Give provocative statement, extract useful ideas:
- "PO: All data is public"
- "PO: Users never make mistakes"
- "PO: The system works backwards"

## Advanced Techniques

### 14. Forced Relationships
Connect unrelated concepts:
- "Social media" + "Database backup" = ?
- "Gaming" + "Security audit" = ?
- "Music streaming" + "API design" = ?

### 15. Assumption Reversal
Challenge core assumptions:
- "What if users don't want privacy?"
- "What if performance doesn't matter?"
- "What if mobile isn't important?"

### 16. Role Playing
Brainstorm from different perspectives:
- **End User**: Daily workflow perspective
- **Administrator**: Management and control needs
- **Developer**: Implementation and maintenance concerns
- **Security Auditor**: Risk and compliance perspective

### 17. Time Shifting
Temporal perspective changes:
- "How would you solve this in 1995?"
- "How will this work in 2030?"
- "What would the solution look like in 2050?"

### 18. Resource Constraints
Artificial limitation brainstorming:
- "What if you had only $100 budget?"
- "What if you had only 1 week?"
- "What if you could only use open-source tools?"

### 19. Metaphor Mapping
Use extended metaphors:
- "This system is like a city, where..."
- "User workflow is like a journey, where..."
- "Data architecture is like an ecosystem, where..."

### 20. Question Storming
Generate questions instead of answers:
- Focus on questioning assumptions
- Identify information gaps
- Explore edge cases through questioning
- Challenge requirements through questions

## Enterprise Application Techniques

### 21. Stakeholder Perspective Shift
Consider different enterprise viewpoints:
- **Executive**: ROI and strategic alignment
- **Compliance**: Regulatory and audit requirements  
- **Support**: Maintenance and troubleshooting needs
- **Sales**: Customer-facing value propositions

### 22. Risk-Benefit Matrix
Explore trade-offs systematically:
- High risk, high benefit scenarios
- Low risk, high benefit opportunities
- Risk mitigation brainstorming
- Benefit amplification strategies

### 23. Technology Stack Exploration
Brainstorm technical approaches:
- Alternative architectures
- Technology substitutions
- Integration patterns
- Scalability approaches

### 24. User Journey Optimization
Focus on experience improvements:
- Onboarding optimization
- Task completion efficiency
- Error recovery enhancement
- Accessibility improvements

## Implementation Guidelines

**For Analyst Agent**: Use techniques 1-4, 11, 16, 21 for requirements exploration
**For PM Agent**: Use techniques 5-7, 12, 22 for feature prioritization
**For Architect Agent**: Use techniques 14, 15, 23 for technical innovation
**For Developer Agent**: Use techniques 8, 13, 18 for implementation creativity
**For UX Expert Agent**: Use techniques 16, 19, 24 for user experience enhancement
**For QA Agent**: Use techniques 3, 11, 17 for testing scenario development