BMAD-METHOD/src/core-skills/bmad-brainstorming/assets/brain-methods.csv

1	category	technique_name	description	detail	provenance	good_for	audience
2	collaborative	Yes And Building	Never negate; each person opens with "Yes, and..." and adds to the last idea, stacking a chain of accepted additions		classic	novel|unstuck|planning	group
3	collaborative	Brain Writing Round Robin	Everyone writes ideas silently, then passes their sheet; you build on whatever lands in front of you, round after round		classic	novel|feature	group
4	collaborative	Random Stimulation	Pull a random word or image and force a link to the problem: "how does THIS spark a solution?"		classic	unstuck|novel	either
5	collaborative	Role Playing	Each person speaks as a different stakeholder, voicing what that role wants, fears, and would demand of the idea		classic	strategy|personal|feature	either
6	collaborative	Ideation Relay Race	30-second turns, no pausing: add one idea, slap it to the next person, keep the baton moving before anyone overthinks		playful	unstuck	group
7	collaborative	Idea Hot Potato	One idea gets tossed around the circle; each catcher must mutate it in 10 seconds before passing, no repeats allowed		playful	unstuck	group
8	collaborative	Steal And Upgrade	Pick a neighbor's idea you envy, claim it out loud, then make it visibly better before handing it back improved		signature	novel|unstuck	group
9	collaborative	Fold The Paper	Each person adds one line to a hidden drawing or sentence, sees only the previous fragment, then unfold the surreal whole		playful	unstuck|novel	group
10	creative	What If Scenarios	Detonate one constraint at a time — unlimited budget, opposite is true, problem vanished — and chase what rushes in		signature	novel|strategy|unstuck	either
11	creative	Analogical Thinking	Ask 'this is like what?' and steal the solution pattern from the domain that answers		signature	feature|novel|diagnosis	either
12	creative	First Principles Thinking	Strip every assumption to bedrock facts, then rebuild the solution from scratch on truth alone		classic	feature|novel|diagnosis|strategy	either
13	creative	Forced Relationships	Grab two unrelated things at random and force a bridge between them until an idea falls out		signature	novel|unstuck	either
14	creative	Time Shifting	Solve the problem as a 1900s artisan, then a 2150 colonist — harvest the era-bound constraints and tricks		signature	novel|unstuck	either
15	creative	Metaphor Mapping	Declare the problem IS a chosen metaphor, extend the metaphor fully, map each part back to find insights		signature	novel|diagnosis	either
16	creative	Cross-Pollination	Ask how a wildly different industry — casinos, ERs, beekeeping — would crack this, then adapt their move		signature	novel|feature|strategy	either
17	creative	Concept Blending	Fuse two concepts into one new hybrid category and name what the merger becomes, not just combines		signature	novel	either
18	creative	Reverse Brainstorming	Generate problems instead of solutions — 'how could we make this fail?' — then mine each for its inverse		classic	diagnosis|feature|unstuck	either
19	creative	Sensory Exploration	Interrogate the idea through each sense — its taste, smell, sound, texture — to surface non-analytical angles		signature	novel|unstuck	either
20	deep	Five Whys	Ask "why?" five times in a chain, each answer feeding the next, until you hit the root cause beneath the symptom		classic	diagnosis	either
21	deep	Provocation Technique	State something deliberately absurd, then mine it: "how could this be useful?" Extract the usable principle hiding inside		classic	unstuck|novel	either
22	deep	Assumption Reversal	List every assumption baked into the problem, flip each to its opposite, then rebuild a solution on the inverted foundation		classic	novel|diagnosis|strategy	either
23	deep	Question Storming	Generate only questions about the problem, zero answers allowed, until the real problem worth solving comes into focus		classic	diagnosis|strategy|unstuck	either
24	deep	Constraint Mapping	Map every constraint, sort real from imagined, then attack each: dissolve it, route around it, or turn it into an asset		signature	feature|strategy|diagnosis	either
25	deep	Failure Analysis	Dissect a relevant failure: what broke, why it broke, what lesson it leaves, and how to apply that wisdom here		signature	diagnosis|strategy|feature	either
26	deep	Emergent Thinking	Stop forcing a solution; watch what patterns the system keeps producing and name what's trying to emerge on its own		signature	strategy|novel	either
27	deep	Causal Loop Mapping	Diagram the feedback loops linking causes and effects, find the reinforcing and balancing cycles, and target the leverage point		classic	diagnosis|strategy	either
28	deep	Morphological Analysis	List the problem's independent parameters, generate options for each, then combine across them to surface untried configurations		classic	feature|novel|planning	either
29	deep	Laddering	Ask 'and what would that give you?' up the chain until you reach the real underlying need, then ideate fresh at that level		classic	personal|strategy|diagnosis	either
30	introspective_delight	Inner Child Conference	Answer as your 7-year-old self: ask naive 'why why why' questions, chase wonder, ban every boring adult thought		signature	personal|unstuck	solo
31	introspective_delight	Shadow Work Mining	Name what you're avoiding, resisting, or scared of about this — then dig there for the buried insight		signature	personal|diagnosis	solo
32	introspective_delight	Values Archaeology	Keep asking 'why do I care?' until you hit bedrock: the non-negotiable value secretly steering the choice		signature	personal|strategy	solo
33	introspective_delight	Future Self Interview	Interview your wise 80-year-old self about this problem and write down the advice they give you		signature	personal	solo
34	introspective_delight	Body Wisdom Dialogue	Scan for the tension, flutter, or gut pull each option triggers; let the body's yes/no drive the ideas		signature	personal	solo
35	introspective_delight	Permission Giving	Write yourself an explicit permission slip to think the forbidden, impossible thought — then think it out loud		signature	personal|unstuck	solo
36	introspective_delight	Secret Wish Confession	Whisper the embarrassing thing you secretly want here but won't admit, then build the idea honoring it		signature	personal	solo
37	introspective_delight	Mood Weather Report	Name the inner weather right now (fog, storm, sun) and let that exact emotional climate generate the ideas		signature	personal|unstuck	solo
38	structured	SCAMPER Method	Run your idea through seven lenses: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put-to-other-use, Eliminate, Reverse		classic	feature|novel	either
39	structured	Six Thinking Hats	Examine the problem six ways one at a time: facts, feelings, benefits, risks, new ideas, process		classic	strategy|diagnosis|planning|personal	either
40	structured	Decision Tree Mapping	Chart every choice point and the paths it forks into, following each branch to its outcome and risk		signature	planning|strategy|diagnosis	either
41	structured	Solution Matrix	Grid problem variables against solution approaches, score every cell, hunt the best pairings and empty gaps		signature	feature|planning	either
42	structured	Trait Transfer	Name what makes an unrelated success work, then graft those winning traits onto your own problem		signature	novel|feature	either
43	structured	Lotus Blossom	Put the theme at the center of a 3x3 grid, fill the 8 cells around it, then promote each of those to the center of its own new 3x3		classic	feature|planning|novel	either
44	structured	Worst Possible Idea	Deliberately generate the most terrible solutions you can, then flip each into what it teaches you to do right		classic	unstuck|novel	either
45	structured	Disney Method	Cycle the idea through three rooms: Dreamer (anything goes), Realist (how we'd build it), Critic (what breaks)		classic	feature|strategy|planning	either
46	structured	Starbursting	Interrogate the idea with only questions — who, what, where, when, why, how — exhaust each before answering any		classic	feature|planning|diagnosis	either
47	structured	Mind Mapping	Branch the central topic outward, each node spawning children; follow tangents wherever they pull and let the web sprawl		classic	planning|novel|feature	either
48	structured	Crazy 8s	Eight ideas in eight minutes, one per box, no editing — speed outruns your inner critic		classic	feature|novel|unstuck	either
49	theatrical	Time Travel Talk Show	Host a talk show interviewing your past, present, and future selves to mine each era for advice on the problem		playful	novel|personal	either
50	theatrical	Alien Anthropologist	Become a baffled alien studying the problem and narrate aloud what seems strange, arbitrary, or insane about it		playful	diagnosis|unstuck|strategy	either
51	theatrical	Dream Fusion Laboratory	Voice the impossible fantasy solution first, then reverse-engineer the bridging steps back to reality		signature	novel|unstuck	either
52	theatrical	Emotion Orchestra	Run a separate ideation round led by each emotion (rage, joy, fear, hope), then harmonize their conflicting ideas		playful	personal|strategy	either
53	theatrical	Parallel Universe Cafe	Rewrite one fundamental rule of reality (physics, economics, social norms) and solve the problem under those laws		playful	novel|unstuck	either
54	theatrical	Persona Journey	Embody an archetype and solve the problem in-character, naming what that persona sees that you normally miss		signature	feature|strategy	either
55	theatrical	Devil's Advocate Courtroom	Stage a trial: prosecute the idea, defend it, then deliver the jury verdict, each role argued fully in character		signature	strategy|diagnosis	group
56	wild	Chaos Engineering	Deliberately break your idea every way it could fail, then rebuild only the parts that survive the wreckage		signature	feature|diagnosis|strategy	either
57	wild	Guerrilla Gardening Ideas	Plant your solution in the least expected place and let it grow underground until it surprises everyone		playful	strategy|unstuck	either
58	wild	Pirate Code Brainstorm	Steal the best bits from anywhere, remix without asking permission, grab what works and run		playful	novel|unstuck	either
59	wild	Zombie Apocalypse Planning	Society just collapsed — strip your idea to only what survives with no power, no rules, no backup		playful	feature|strategy|unstuck	either
60	wild	Drunk History Retelling	Explain it like you're three drinks in: no filter, no jargon, just the raw stupid-simple truth		playful	unstuck|diagnosis	either
61	wild	Anti-Solution	Brainstorm how to make the problem spectacularly worse, then invert every sabotage into a fix		signature	diagnosis|unstuck	either
62	wild	Elemental Forces	Let fire, water, earth, and air each sculpt your idea their own brutal way and see what survives		playful	novel|unstuck	either
63	biomimetic	Nature's Solutions	Name an organism that already solved your problem, then copy its mechanism into your design		signature	feature|novel	either
64	biomimetic	Ecosystem Thinking	Map your problem as an ecosystem: who eats whom, who partners, what decays, what fills the gaps		signature	strategy|diagnosis	either
65	biomimetic	Evolutionary Pressure	Spawn many ugly variants, apply a brutal selection rule, breed the survivors, repeat until it adapts		signature	feature|novel	either
66	biomimetic	Predator & Prey	Pick a threat to your idea, then design the defense, camouflage, or escape an animal would evolve against it		signature	strategy|feature	either
67	biomimetic	Metamorphosis Stages	Force your idea through egg, larva, pupa, adult: a radically different form and purpose at each life stage		signature	novel|strategy	either
68	biomimetic	Swarm Logic	Forbid the master plan: solve it with dumb local rules each agent follows so order emerges from the bottom up		signature	feature|strategy	either
69	quantum	Observer Effect	Ask how the act of watching, measuring, or shipping this idea changes the very thing you're trying to capture		signature	strategy|diagnosis	either
70	quantum	Entanglement Thinking	Pair two distant parts of the problem and insist a change in one instantly flips the other — surface the hidden linkage		signature	diagnosis|strategy	either
71	quantum	Superposition Collapse	Hold all rival solutions alive at once, then name the one constraint that collapses them to a single winner		signature	strategy|diagnosis	either
72	quantum	Relativity Frame Shift	Re-run the idea from a wildly different observer's reference frame — the slow user, the rival, future-you — and see what warps		signature	strategy|novel	either
73	quantum	Field Lines	Treat the goal as a charge and map the invisible forces pulling every stakeholder toward or away from it		signature	strategy	either
74	quantum	Quantum Tunneling	Assume the idea can pass straight through the 'impossible' barrier instead of over it — what's on the other side, reached cheaply		signature	unstuck|novel	either
75	cultural	Indigenous Wisdom	Ask how an indigenous or traditional knowledge system would approach this — name the culture, channel its ancestral problem-solving		signature	personal|strategy|novel	either
76	cultural	Fusion Cuisine	Pick two unrelated cultures and force-blend their approaches; harvest the hybrid that neither alone would invent		signature	novel	either
77	cultural	Ritual Innovation	Redesign the idea as a ceremony — define the threshold, the gestures, the transformation participants undergo		signature	novel|personal	either
78	cultural	Mythic Frameworks	Map the problem onto a myth: name the archetypes, find the parallel tale, let its structure dictate the resolution		signature	strategy|personal|novel	either
79	cultural	Proverb Mining	Collect proverbs from many cultures on this theme, then build the solution from the one that clashes hardest with your assumptions		signature	personal|strategy	either
80	cultural	Ancestor Council	Convene three ancestors or elders from different traditions, voice each one's verdict on your idea, reconcile their disagreement		signature	personal|strategy	either
81	cultural	Trickster's Gambit	Channel the trickster figure — coyote, Anansi, Loki — and solve it by cheating, inverting, or breaking the sacred rule		playful	unstuck|strategy	either
82	absurdist	Villain's Monologue	Pitch your problem as an evil mastermind gloating about their scheme; the diabolical plan reveals the real solution		playful	diagnosis|strategy|unstuck	either
83	absurdist	Explain It to a Golden Retriever	Re-pitch the idea to an excitable dog who only cares about treats, balls, and naps; keep only what survives		playful	unstuck|diagnosis|feature	either
84	absurdist	Infomercial at 3AM	Sell your half-baked idea as a desperate late-night infomercial: 'But wait, there's more!' until features fall out		playful	strategy|novel	either
85	absurdist	Drunk Uncle at Thanksgiving	Have your loudest, least-filtered relative rant about the problem; mine the unhinged hot takes for buried truth		playful	unstuck|diagnosis	either
86	absurdist	Cursed Genie	Make a wish, then let a malicious genie grant it in the most technically-correct disastrous way; patch each loophole		playful	diagnosis|feature	either
87	absurdist	Three Rounds of Stupid	Round 1 absurd ideas, Round 2 make each MORE absurd, Round 3 find the smallest serious thing hiding in the silliest		playful	unstuck|novel	either
88	constraint	Kill the Crown Jewel	Delete the single best, most beloved feature — now redesign the whole thing to win without it		signature	feature|strategy|unstuck	either
89	constraint	1000x Budget	Pretend money, time, and people are infinite — design the absurd version, then mine it for ideas you can actually steal		signature	novel|strategy	either
90	constraint	Ship in 60 Minutes	You launch in one hour with what's already on hand — name what you cut, fake, or borrow to make it real		signature	feature|planning|unstuck	either
91	constraint	The $0 Mandate	Achieve the goal spending literally nothing — no tools, hires, or ads; only people, favors, and what you own		signature	planning|strategy|feature	either
92	constraint	One Feature Only	You may keep exactly ONE capability and nothing else — pick it, then make that single thing unbelievably good		signature	feature|strategy	either
93	constraint	Crank the Dial to 11	Pick one dimension and exaggerate it to a ludicrous extreme — fastest, biggest, cheapest, weirdest — and see what breaks open		signature	novel|unstuck	either
94	constraint	Constraint Roulette	Each round draw a brutal random limit (no screens, half the team, one day) and re-solve under it; survivors become real ideas		signature	unstuck|feature	either
95	speculative_future	Time Horizon Ladder	Solve the idea for 1 year out, then 10, then 100 — note what survives, breaks, or becomes absurd at each rung		signature	strategy|planning|novel	either
96	speculative_future	Post-Scarcity Test	Assume the core constraint (money, energy, time, attention) is now infinite and free — what does the idea become		signature	novel|strategy	either
97	speculative_future	Utopia vs Dystopia Split-Screen	Write the same future twice: the brochure where it went perfectly and the headline where it went horribly		signature	strategy|diagnosis	either
98	speculative_future	Sci-Fi Artifact From the Future	Describe one physical object, ad, or news clip from the world where this idea already won — reverse-engineer it		signature	novel|feature	either
99	speculative_future	Emerging Tech Collision	Force-marry your idea to a frontier tech (AGI, fusion, neural implants, gene edit) and ask what new thing is born		signature	novel|feature|strategy	either
100	speculative_future	What-If-The-World-Changed Card Flip	Draw a wild world-shift (no privacy, half population, 200-yr lifespans) and redesign the idea to fit that world		signature	novel|unstuck	either
101	speculative_future	Future Anthropologist Dig	A scholar in 2200 unearths your idea as a relic — what do they conclude it reveals about us, and what replaced it		signature	strategy|novel	either
102	structured	How Might We	Reframe the problem as a batch of 'How might we...' opportunity questions first, then ideate against the sharpest one		classic	feature|novel|strategy|diagnosis	either
103	structured	Job to Be Done	Ask what the user is really hiring this to do, then ideate around that underlying job, not the feature you assumed		classic	feature|strategy|novel	either
104	structured	Empathy Map	Map what the user says, thinks, does, and feels around the problem, then mine each quadrant for the unmet need		classic	feature|personal	either
105	structured	Backcasting	Fix the finished future in vivid detail, then work backward step by step to the one move you'd have to make first		classic	strategy|planning|novel	either
106	deep	TRIZ Contradiction	Name the core contradiction (what only improves by making something else worse), then brainstorm ways to win both instead of trading off		classic	feature|novel|diagnosis	either
107	deep	Fishbone Diagram	Branch the problem's spine into cause categories (people, process, tools, environment) and mine each bone for contributing causes		classic	diagnosis	either
108	deep	Build on What Works	Name what's already succeeding and why, then ideate how to amplify and extend it instead of fixing what's broken		classic	personal|strategy	either
109	speculative_future	Scenario Cross	Pick two high-impact uncertainties, cross them into four futures, and ideate the move that wins in every one		classic	strategy|planning	either