---
name: feedback-stream-of-thought-design
description: Mike prefers free-form stream-of-thought design conversations; Claude captures and decomposes them into specs only if/when he decides to build.
metadata:
  type: feedback
---

Mike likes to brainstorm features as free-form, stream-of-thought conversations,
adding and refining requirements iteratively across several messages. He wants Claude
to absorb the discussion, validate and sharpen the ideas (surface architectural
trade-offs, name the real decisions, push back when an instinct fights the
architecture), and then break it into implementable parts (a `/shape-spec`) only
if/when he explicitly decides to build it.

**Why:** He thinks out loud and trusts Claude to do the structuring later. Forcing
premature structure, or jumping to implementation mid-brainstorm, gets in his way.

**How to apply:** During these conversations, engage as a design partner, not an
order-taker — but do NOT start building. When he says to park it, capture the
discussion durably (e.g. a `PARKED_*.md` doc in the relevant repo, plus coord todos)
with the decided shape + open decisions, so a future session can spec it cleanly. The
2026-06-07 alert-lifecycle redesign + tiered telemetry cadence threads are an example:
parked to `projects/msp-tools/guru-rmm/docs/PARKED_alert-lifecycle-and-telemetry-cadence.md`.
Related: [[feedback-dashboard-beta-first]].