Brainstorm Example

This example shows the output of a completed brainstorm session: a manifest document produced at the end of the session, plus the implied backlog that the agent presents alongside it.

The session covered a new “Reading Mode” initiative for an existing bookmarking app.

Manifest produced by the session

type: manifest
id: reading-mode
title: Reading Mode Initiative
status: draft
tags: [initiative, reading]
context:
  - manifest/product


{% manifest scope="public agent" %}

{% tldr %}
Reading Mode strips away distractions so users can focus on the content they saved.
It is an opt-in rendering layer, not a replacement for the original page.
{% /tldr %}

{% value id="FOCUS" label="Focus Over Features" %}
Reading Mode exists to remove noise, not to add functionality.
Every addition must be justified by "does this help the user read?".
If the answer is no, it does not belong here.
{% /value %}

{% principle id="OPT_IN" label="Always Opt-In" %}
Reading Mode is never activated automatically. The user chooses it per-article.
Persistent preferences are allowed, but defaults are always the original view.
{% /principle %}

{% principle id="DEGRADE_GRACEFULLY" label="Graceful Degradation" %}
If an article cannot be parsed into reading mode, show the original page cleanly.
Never show a broken reading-mode layout.
{% /principle %}

{% goal id="G1" label="Single-Tap Entry" status="pending" %}
A user can enter reading mode for any bookmark with a single tap from the reading view.
{% /goal %}

{% goal id="G2" label="Font Preferences Persist" status="pending" %}
Font size and family preferences are stored locally and applied to all future reading sessions.
{% /goal %}

{% requirement id="parse" priority="must" tags="reliability" %}
The article parser must handle malformed HTML without crashing or showing broken output.
{% /requirement %}

{% requirement id="offline" priority="should" tags="performance" %}
Parsed article content should be cached locally so reading mode works offline.
{% /requirement %}

{% /manifest %}

Implied backlog presented alongside the manifest

Roles to create: (none — user already covers the primary actor) Domains to create: new domain article-parser ← extracts readable content from a URL new domain reading-prefs ← stores and applies per-user reading preferences Features to create: new feature reading-mode-view ← render a bookmark in reading mode new feature reading-preferences ← let users set font, size, background new feature offline-reading ← cache parsed articles for offline use

What this example illustrates

Manifest stays focused: The reading-mode manifest references manifest/product in context to inherit the product-level values rather than restating them. It only adds values and principles specific to this initiative.
Goals are concrete: “Single-Tap Entry” and “Font Preferences Persist” are observable and testable — not “improve reading experience”.
Backlog is output, not input: The agent proposes domain and feature names at the end. The user decides which to pursue next. Nothing is written to content/ until the user runs new domain or new feature.
NFRs trace forward: parse will later be referenced by a design rule in content/designs/article-parser.design.mdoc via ref="manifest/reading-mode#parse".