idea-refine

The idea-refine skill is designed to transform vague or raw ideas into focused, actionable concepts through a structured process that balances divergent and convergent thinking. It addresses the common challenge of moving from an initial, unshaped idea to a concrete plan ready for execution. By guiding users through a disciplined ideation workflow, it ensures that ideas are stress-tested, assumptions are surfaced, and practical paths forward are identified, reducing the risk of pursuing unviable concepts or unclear objectives.

The skill's main features include a three-phase process: 'Understand & Expand (Divergent)' to clarify the idea and explore multiple variations, 'Evaluate & Converge' to cluster, assess, and challenge the ideas, and 'Sharpen & Ship' to produce a polished markdown one-pager summarizing the concept. Users are prompted to answer focused questions, generate multiple perspectives, and consider alternative scenarios, constraints, and simplifications. The output includes key elements such as a problem statement, recommended direction, key assumptions, MVP scope, and a 'Not Doing' list. The skill also provides guidance rooted in a philosophy emphasizing simplicity, user experience, and careful assumption-testing.

This skill is ideal for entrepreneurs, product managers, designers, and innovation teams who need to refine and validate ideas before committing resources. Use cases include developing new product concepts, stress-testing business strategies, or exploring creative solutions for user problems. It is particularly valuable when the idea is still high-level, when multiple options need evaluation, or when uncovering hidden assumptions is critical. The interactive, conversation-driven approach allows users to iteratively shape ideas with expert guidance without relying on rigid templates.