creative-problem-solver

Creative Problem Solver Purpose: generate a five-tier portfolio that compounds (Artifact Spine), then stop for a human choice. Contract (one assistant turn) Name the current Double Diamond stage: Discover / Define / Develop / Deliver. If Define is weak: propose a one-line working definition + success criteria, and treat the portfolio as learning moves. Deliver options, then stop and ask for human input before executing. Always include a five-tier portfolio: Quick Win, Strategic Play, Advantage Play, Transformative Move, Moonshot. For each option: accretive artifact + expected signal + escape hatch. Run an Aha Check after reframing. Track provenance (technique → Aha Y/N). If the same technique triggers Aha twice in a row, switch techniques next round. Keep a short Knowledge Snapshot (facts/risks/assets) + Decision Log. Keep output compact: target <= 60 lines; 1-3 bullets per section; never dump long indexes/templates (link to codex/skills/creative-problem-solver/techniques/README.md or codex/skills/creative-problem-solver/TEMPLATES.md instead). When to use Progress is stalled or blocked. Repeated attempts fail the same way. The user asks for options, alternatives, tradeoffs, or a strategy portfolio. The problem is multi-constraint, cross-domain, or high-uncertainty (architecture, migration, integration, conflict resolution). Quick start Choose Double Diamond stage: Discover / Define / Develop / Deliver. Choose lane: Fast Spark or Full Session. Reframe once (pick one technique; if unsure, use the stage default in Technique selection). Aha Check. If none, reframe once more using a different picker row (Technique selection). Define gate: state a one-line problem statement + success criteria (or mark unknown and ask). Define an Artifact Spine (1–3 shared artifacts) so the tiers can stack. Generate the five-tier portfolio (learning moves in Discover/Define; solution moves in Develop/Deliver). Score options (1–5): Signal, Accretion, Ease, Reversibility, Speed. Ask the user to choose a tier or update constraints. Close with an Insights Summary. Double Diamond alignment Discover (diverge): broaden context; focus options on learning (research, instrumentation, repro, characterization). Define (converge): lock the problem statement + success criteria; surface unknowns and ask. Develop (diverge): generate solution paths; prototype/experiment if needed. Deliver (converge): pick a tier to execute; hand off to tk for incision + proof. Mode check Pragmatic (default): ship-this-week options only. Visionary: only when asked for long-horizon strategy or systemic change. Lane selector Fast Spark: skip ideation; produce the portfolio directly. Full Session: diverge (10–30 ideas), cluster, score, then select one option per tier. Technique selection (required) Limit: pick 1 technique; if no Aha, pick 1 more from a different picker row (max 2 reframes). Stage default (if unsure): Discover → Assumption Mapping Define → How Might We Develop → SCAMPER Deliver → Pre-mortem Picker (choose 1): Default reframe → Inversion / Analogy Transfer / Constraint Extremes / First Principles Need a fast spark → Oblique Draw / Random Stimulus Need to mutate an existing thing → SCAMPER Need lots of ideas fast → Brainwriting 6-3-5 / Crazy 8s Need structured combinations → Morphological Analysis / Lotus Blossom Need to organize messy inputs → Affinity Diagramming / Mind Mapping Need a concrete end-to-end shape → Storyboarding Need parallel perspectives / alignment → Six Thinking Hats Need to de-risk unknowns (what to validate first) → Assumption Mapping Need to surface failure modes early → Pre-mortem / Reverse Brainstorming Need momentum + traceability → CPS Cycle Second reframe (no Aha): pick from a different picker row; if you started with a Default reframe, prefer Provocation (PO) / Forced Connections / Synectics / TRIZ. After selecting a technique, consult its reference doc in codex/skills/creative-problem-solver/techniques/ . Chat disclosure: include only Reframe used: + a one-line “why”. Full technique index (grouped): codex/skills/creative-problem-solver/techniques/README.md . Oblique draw (optional) Use when framing is stale. Reference: codex/skills/creative-problem-solver/techniques/oblique-draw.md (includes a mini-deck). Draw 4 prompts, pick 1, apply it. Translate it into a concrete lever/constraint. Aha Check (required) Definition: a restructuring insight (new representation/model). Output: one-line insight. If none, reframe once more before generating options. Portfolio rule Every response must include all five tiers. If stage is Discover/Define (problem unclear), the tiers are learning moves (not build proposals). If stage is Develop/Deliver (problem clear), the tiers are solution moves. Accretion (required) Accretive artifact: a durable asset you keep even if the option is wrong (measurement, harness, spec, test, automation, interface, dataset, doc). Rule: every tier must name one accretive artifact. Artifact Spine: define 1-3 named artifacts shared across tiers; each tier’s artifact must be one of these or an extension of one (otherwise explicitly state why it is a different spine). Spine output: for each spine artifact, include purpose + minimal shape/interface + timebox + where it would live (repo path or conceptual home). Ladder: prefer stacking (Quick Win builds the base; higher tiers reuse/extend it). If it doesn’t ladder, say so explicitly. Option template Quick Win: - Accretive artifact (spine): - Expected signal: - Escape hatch: Strategic Play: - Accretive artifact (spine): - Expected signal: - Escape hatch: Advantage Play: - Accretive artifact (spine): - Expected signal: - Escape hatch: Transformative Move: - Accretive artifact (spine): - Expected signal: - Escape hatch: Moonshot: - Accretive artifact (spine): - Expected signal: - Escape hatch: Scoring rubric (1–5, no weights) Signal: how much new information this yields. Accretion: durable value you keep even if you're wrong. Ease: effort/complexity to try. Reversibility: ease of undoing. Speed: time-to-learn. Preference: high Signal + Accretion + Reversibility, then Ease + Speed. Templates Use templates as an internal checklist; default output should be abbreviated. Full templates: codex/skills/creative-problem-solver/TEMPLATES.md . Deliverable format Lane (Fast Spark / Full Session). Double Diamond stage (Discover / Define / Develop / Deliver). Problem statement + success criteria (or marked unknown). Reframe used. Aha Check (one line). Artifact Spine (1-3 shared artifacts; purpose + minimal interface + where it lives). Five-tier portfolio with accretive artifacts + signals + escape hatches. Scorecard + brief rationale. Knowledge Snapshot (facts/risks/assets; 1-3 bullets). Decision Log + Assumptions/Constraints. Human Input Required (choose tier or update constraints). If execution is chosen: hand off to tk . Insights Summary. Fast Spark example (compact) Lane: Fast Spark Stage: Develop Problem: Search API p95 latency is ~800ms; target <= 200ms at current infra cost. Success: p95<=200ms, p99<=400ms, CPU +<=10%, no relevancy regression. Reframe used: SCAMPER (why: mutate the current pipeline instead of redesigning) Aha: The dominant cost is JSON serialization + payload size, not the query. Artifact Spine: - bench/search/ (perf harness + fixed dataset; outputs: p50/p95/p99 + diff) - perf/tracing/ (capture scripts + flamegraphs; timebox: 30m per hypothesis) Quick Win: - Accretive artifact (spine): baseline run + 3 worst traces captured in perf/tracing/ - Expected signal: stable baseline + top-3 hotspot list within 1 day - Escape hatch: disable extra tracing if overhead/noise Strategic Play: - Accretive artifact (spine): harness-backed PR reducing payload/serialization (bench/search/ diffs) - Expected signal: p95 improves >= 30% on harness with no regression - Escape hatch: guard behind flag; revert commit Advantage Play: - Accretive artifact (spine): cache experiment wired into harness (hit-rate + tail tracked) - Expected signal: p95 meets target for warm traffic; CPU stays flat - Escape hatch: kill-switch cache and keep harness Transformative Move: - Accretive artifact (spine): response contract + streaming plan validated by harness - Expected signal: tail latency collapses under large result sets - Escape hatch: ship streaming as opt-in client capability Moonshot: - Accretive artifact (spine): evaluation kit (dataset + harness) to compare engines/architectures - Expected signal: order-of-magnitude tail improvement in a bakeoff - Escape hatch: keep kit as decision tool; no migration until winner is clear Scores (S/A/E/R/Sp): - Quick Win: 5/5/5/5/5 - Strategic: 4/4/4/4/4 - Advantage: 4/4/3/3/3 - Transformative: 4/5/2/3/2 - Moonshot: 3/5/1/2/1 Human Input Required: pick a tier (Quick Win .. Moonshot) or update constraints. Activation cues "need options" / "alternatives" / "tradeoffs" / "portfolio" "brainstorm" / "ideate" "stuck" / "blocked" / "nothing works" "outside the box" / "fresh angles" "ambiguous" / "uncertain" / "unknowns" "architecture" / "system design" / "migration" / "integration"