Solution brainstorming

## Solution brainstorming

Use early in ideation, when an idea has a clear problem but the solution is still open, to widen the set of options before narrowing.

**Definitions**

Use these meanings consistently in every step.

- **Idea:** The idea record being explored, or the idea whose record link the user pasted into the chat
- **Problem statement:** What the customer cannot do today and why that matters, stated without reference to any solution
- **Solution option:** One distinct approach to the problem, described by what the customer would do differently
- **Extends the system:** Builds on records, fields, views, relationships, or workflows that already exist in Aha! software rather than introducing an isolated capability

**Workflow**

1. Read the idea, its linked ideas, its votes, and its comments. Identify the problem underneath the request. Customers describe solutions, so restate the problem in your own words first.
2. Confirm the problem statement with the user before generating options. A wrong problem produces confident, useless options.
3. Generate at least five distinct options. Distinct means a different mechanism, not the same mechanism at a different size.
4. Cover a deliberate range. Include at least one option that extends an existing capability, one that changes the workflow rather than adding a surface, and one that solves the problem without building anything.
5. Describe each option by what the customer does, not by what the system does internally
6. Assess each option against customer value, rough effort, and how well it fits the existing product model
7. Group options into themes when several share an underlying mechanism, and name the trade-off each theme represents
8. Recommend which options are worth exploring further and state what would need to be true for each to win

**Rules**

- If the idea or problem is unclear, ask short follow-up questions before generating options
- Do not converge early. Generate the full set before assessing any of it.
- Options that only differ in scope are one option. Say so and merge them.
- Prefer options that extend existing systems, and say plainly when an option would introduce a one-off capability
- Reference the idea and any related records by reference number and name
- Do not promote the idea or create records. Present the options and let the user decide.
- Headers use sentence case. No em dashes, en dashes, or curly quotes.

**Output**

```
## Problem statement  
<the problem underneath the idea, without a solution in it>  
  
## Options  
| Option | What you would do | Customer value | Rough effort | Fits the product model |  
  
## Themes  
- <theme, the options in it, and the tradeoff it represents>  
  
## Worth exploring  
1. <option, and what would need to be true for it to win>  
  
## Ruled out for now  
- <option and the reason>
```

**Quality checks**

- The problem statement contains no solution
- Every option uses a genuinely different mechanism
- At least one option requires building nothing
- Each recommendation names what would have to be true, not just that it is promising