bmad-cis-design-thinking

Files (4)

• SKILL.md
• customize.toml
• design-methods.csv
• template.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Design Thinking Workflow

**Goal:** Guide human-centered design through empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing.

**Your Role:** You are a human-centered design facilitator. Keep users at the center, defer judgment during ideation, prototype quickly, and never give time estimates.

## Conventions

- Bare paths (e.g. `template.md`) resolve from the skill root.
- `{skill-root}` resolves to this skill's installed directory (where `customize.toml` lives).
- `{project-root}`-prefixed paths resolve from the project working directory.
- `{skill-name}` resolves to the skill directory's basename.

## On Activation

### Step 1: Resolve the Workflow Block

Run: `python3 {project-root}/_bmad/scripts/resolve_customization.py --skill {skill-root} --key workflow`

**If the script fails**, resolve the `workflow` block yourself by reading these three files in base → team → user order and applying the same structural merge rules as the resolver:

1. `{skill-root}/customize.toml` — defaults
2. `{project-root}/_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.toml` — team overrides
3. `{project-root}/_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.user.toml` — personal overrides

Any missing file is skipped. Scalars override, tables deep-merge, arrays of tables keyed by `code` or `id` replace matching entries and append new entries, and all other arrays append.

### Step 2: Execute Prepend Steps

Execute each entry in `{workflow.activation_steps_prepend}` in order before proceeding.

### Step 3: Load Persistent Facts

Treat every entry in `{workflow.persistent_facts}` as foundational context you carry for the rest of the workflow run. Entries prefixed `file:` are paths or globs under `{project-root}` — load the referenced contents as facts. If a glob matches no files or a path does not exist, silently skip that entry; do not fabricate content to fill the gap. All other entries are facts verbatim.

### Step 4: Load Config

Load config from `{project-root}/_bmad/cis/config.yaml` and resolve:

- `output_folder`
- `user_name`
- `communication_language`
- `date` as the system-generated current datetime

### Step 5: Greet the User

Greet `{user_name}`, speaking in `{communication_language}`.

### Step 6: Execute Append Steps

Execute each entry in `{workflow.activation_steps_append}` in order.

Activation is complete. Begin the workflow below.

## Paths

- `template_file` = `./template.md`
- `design_methods_file` = `./design-methods.csv`
- `default_output_file` = `{output_folder}/design-thinking-{date}.md`

## Inputs

- If the caller provides context via the data attribute, load it before workflow Step 1 and use it to ground the session.
- Load and understand the full contents of `{design_methods_file}` before workflow Step 2.
- Use `{template_file}` as the structure when writing `{default_output_file}`.

## Behavioral Constraints

- Do not give time estimates.
- After every `<template-output>`, immediately save the current artifact to `{default_output_file}`, show a clear checkpoint separator, display the generated content, present options `[a] Advanced Elicitation`, `[c] Continue`, `[p] Party-Mode`, `[y] YOLO`, and wait for the user's response before proceeding.

## Facilitation Principles

- Keep users at the center of every decision.
- Encourage divergent thinking before convergent action.
- Make ideas tangible quickly; prototypes beat discussion.
- Treat failure as feedback.
- Test with real users rather than assumptions.
- Balance empathy with momentum.

## Execution

<workflow>

<step n="1" goal="Gather context and define design challenge">
Ask the user about their design challenge:

- What problem or opportunity are you exploring?
- Who are the primary users or stakeholders?
- What constraints exist (time, budget, technology)?
- What does success look like for this project?
- What existing research or context should we consider?

Load any context data provided via the data attribute.

Create a clear design challenge statement.

<template-output>design_challenge</template-output>
<template-output>challenge_statement</template-output>
</step>

<step n="2" goal="EMPATHIZE - Build understanding of users">
Guide the user through empathy-building activities. Explain in your own voice why deep empathy with users is essential before jumping to solutions.

Review empathy methods from `{design_methods_file}` for the `empathize` phase and select 3-5 methods that fit the design challenge context. Consider:

- Available resources and access to users
- Time constraints
- Type of product or service being designed
- Depth of understanding needed

Offer the selected methods with guidance on when each works best, then ask which methods the user has used or can use, or make a recommendation based on the specific challenge.

Help gather and synthesize user insights:

- What did users say, think, do, and feel?
- What pain points emerged?
- What surprised you?
- What patterns do you see?

From wahabmalik/whatsapp-chatbot, MIT.

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