automation-brainstorm

Automation Brainstorm

Interactive workflow design advisor that helps plan and architect automation workflows through guided conversations.

Supported Platforms

• Power Automate (Microsoft)
• n8n (Open-source)
• Make (formerly Integromat)
• Zapier
• Other JSON-based workflow platforms

Purpose

This skill provides expert guidance for planning automation workflows by:

1. Understanding user requirements through interactive questions
2. Recommending triggers, actions, and data flow patterns
3. Researching platform-specific best practices
4. Identifying potential issues early
5. Generating detailed implementation plan for automation-build-flow

When This Skill Activates

Automatically activates when user:

• Mentions creating/building a new workflow: "I want to create a flow that..."
• Asks for ideas/advice: "What's the best way to automate..."
• Describes requirements without complete design: "I need to sync data between..."
• Requests planning help: "Help me design a workflow for..."
• Keywords: "create flow", "build automation", "design workflow", "need ideas"

Does NOT activate when:

• User has complete plan and wants to build (use automation-build-flow)
• User has error and needs debugging (use automation-debugger)
• User wants to validate existing flow (use automation-validator)

Core Workflow

Phase 1: Platform & Context Discovery

CRITICAL: Always determine the platform first!

1. Check if Platform Specified

   • Look for platform mention in user message
   • Power Automate, n8n, Make, Zapier, etc.

2. Ask for Platform if Missing

   Use AskUserQuestion tool:
   
   Question: "Which automation platform will you be using for this workflow?"
   Header: "Platform"
   Options:
   - Power Automate (Microsoft cloud platform with Office 365 integration)
   - n8n (Open-source, self-hosted, node-based automation)
   - Make (Visual scenario builder, formerly Integromat)
   - Zapier (SaaS automation platform, easy to use)
   - Other (Specify in custom response)
   

3. Gather Initial Requirements

   • What problem are they solving?
   • What systems need to connect?
   • What's the expected frequency?
   • Any specific constraints?

Phase 2: Interactive Design Session

Use AskUserQuestion tool for guided discovery. Ask 2-4 questions per iteration.

Question Set 1: Trigger Design

Use AskUserQuestion tool:

Question 1: "What should trigger this workflow?"
Header: "Trigger Type"
Options:
- Schedule (Run on a regular schedule - hourly, daily, etc.)
- Event (Triggered by an event - new email, file upload, etc.)
- Webhook (Triggered by HTTP request from external system)
- Manual (Run on demand by user)

Question 2: "How frequently will this workflow run?"
Header: "Frequency"
Options:
- High (Multiple times per minute or real-time)
- Medium (Every few minutes to hourly)
- Low (Daily, weekly, or on-demand)
- Variable (Depends on external events)

Question Set 2: Data & Actions

Use AskUserQuestion tool:

Question 1: "What data sources will you read from?"
Header: "Data Sources"
MultiSelect: true
Options:
- Databases (SQL, NoSQL, cloud databases)
- APIs (REST APIs, webhooks, web services)
- Files (CSV, Excel, JSON, XML, documents)
- Email (Read emails, attachments, process content)
- Other (Cloud storage, messaging systems, etc.)

Question 2: "What actions will the workflow perform?"
Header: "Actions"
MultiSelect: true
Options:
- Transform data (Parse, filter, map, aggregate)
- Create/Update records (Database, CRM, systems)
- Send notifications (Email, Slack, Teams, SMS)
- File operations (Upload, download, convert)
- Other (Custom API calls, complex logic)

Question Set 3: Error Handling & Requirements

Use AskUserQuestion tool:

Question 1: "How critical is this workflow?"
Header: "Criticality"
Options:
- Critical (Must not fail, needs immediate alerts)
- Important (Should retry on failure, log errors)
- Standard (Basic error handling, can fail occasionally)
- Low (Minimal error handling, best effort)

Question 2: "What are your main concerns?"
Header: "Concerns"
MultiSelect: true
Options:
- Performance (Speed, processing large volumes)
- Reliability (Must not lose data, retry logic)
- Security (Handle sensitive data, authentication)
- Monitoring (Need visibility, logging, alerts)
- Cost (API limits, execution costs, efficiency)

Phase 3: Research Best Practices

CRITICAL: Use Task tool to launch research sub-agent.

Use Task tool with subagent_type="Explore" and thoroughness="very thorough"

Prompt: "Research best practices for [PLATFORM] workflow with the following requirements:

Platform: [Power Automate / n8n / Make / Zapier]
Trigger: [USER_SELECTED_TRIGGER]
Data Sources: [USER_SELECTED_SOURCES]
Actions: [USER_SELECTED_ACTIONS]
Criticality: [USER_SELECTED_CRITICALITY]

Search in Docs/{Platform}_Documentation/ for:
1. Recommended patterns for this trigger type
2. Best practices for the selected data sources
3. Error handling patterns for this criticality level
4. Performance optimization (API limits, batching, etc.)
5. Security best practices for this use case
6. Common pitfalls to avoid

Return:
- Specific connector/node recommendations
- Architectural patterns
- Error handling strategies
- Performance considerations
- Security recommendations
- Example implementations if available"

Expected Research Output:

• Platform-specific connector/node recommendations
• Best practice patterns from documentation
• Known limitations and workarounds
• Error handling strategies
• Performance optimization tips

Phase 4: Design Recommendations

Based on user requirements and research findings:

1. Architecture Overview

   • Recommended trigger configuration
   • Data flow diagram (textual)
   • Key actions/nodes sequence
   • Branching/conditional logic

2. Implementation Considerations

   • API rate limits and throttling
   • Data transformation needs
   • Error handling strategy
   • Retry logic recommendations
   • Monitoring and logging

3. Platform-Specific Recommendations

   • Best connectors/nodes for the platform
   • Platform quirks to be aware of
   • Performance optimizations
   • Cost considerations

4. Potential Issues & Solutions

   • Common problems for this pattern
   • Preventive measures
   • Fallback strategies

Phase 5: Generate Implementation Plan

Create detailed, structured plan ready for automation-build-flow skill.

Implementation Plan Format

# Workflow Implementation Plan

## Platform
[Power Automate / n8n / Make / Zapier]

## Overview
[1-2 sentence description of what the workflow does]

## Requirements Summary
- **Trigger**: [Trigger type and configuration]
- **Frequency**: [Expected execution frequency]
- **Data Sources**: [List of sources]
- **Actions**: [List of main actions]
- **Criticality**: [Criticality level]

## Architecture

### 1. Trigger Configuration
**Type**: [Schedule / Event / Webhook / Manual]
**Configuration**:
- Parameter 1: [Value]
- Parameter 2: [Value]

**Platform-Specific**:
- Connector/Node: [Name]
- Special considerations: [Any platform quirks]

### 2. Data Flow

#### Step 1: [Action Name]
**Purpose**: [What this step does]
**Connector/Node**: [Platform-specific component]
**Configuration**:
- Input: [Data source/format]
- Processing: [What happens]
- Output: [Result format]

**Error Handling**:
- On failure: [Retry / Skip / Alert]
- Fallback: [Alternative action if needed]

#### Step 2: [Action Name]
[Same structure as Step 1]

#### Step N: [Action Name]
[Same structure]

### 3. Conditional Logic

**Condition 1**: [Description]
- If true → [Action path]
- If false → [Alternative path]

**Condition 2**: [Description]
[Same structure]

### 4. Error Handling Strategy

**Global Error Handler**:
- Wrap critical sections in: [Scope / Try-Catch / Error boundary]
- On error:
  1. Log error details
  2. [Retry logic if applicable]
  3. Send notification to: [Email / Slack / Teams]

**Action-Specific Error Handling**:
- [Action 1]: [Specific handling]
- [Action 2]: [Specific handling]

### 5. Performance Optimization

**API Rate Limiting**:
- [Connector/API]: [Limit] calls per [time period]
- Mitigation: [Delays / Batching / Throttling strategy]

**Data Processing**:
- Batch size: [Number] items per iteration
- Pagination: [Strategy if needed]
- Filtering: [Filter at source to reduce volume]

**Concurrency**:
- Parallel execution: [Yes/No and configuration]
- Sequential processing: [When and why]

### 6. Security Considerations

**Authentication**:
- [Connector/API]: [Auth method]
- Credential storage: [Secure parameters / Connection references]

**Data Handling**:
- Sensitive data: [Encryption / Masking strategy]
- Logging: [What to log / What to exclude]
- Compliance: [GDPR / HIPAA / Other requirements]

### 7. Monitoring & Logging

**Logging Strategy**:
- Log points: [Where to log]
- Log level: [Info / Warning / Error]
- Log destination: [Platform logs / External system]

**Monitoring**:
- Success metrics: [What indicates success]
- Failure alerts: [When to alert]
- Performance metrics: [Execution time / Volume processed]

## Best Practices Applied

1. **[Platform] Best Practice 1**
   - Applied in: [Step/Action]
   - Benefit: [Why this helps]

2. **[Platform] Best Practice 2**
   - Applied in: [Step/Action]
   - Benefit: [Why this helps]

[Continue for all relevant best practices]

## Known Limitations & Workarounds

1. **Limitation**: [Description]
   - Impact: [How it affects the workflow]
   - Workaround: [Solution implemented]
   - Reference: [Docs/{Platform}_Documentation/file.md]

2. **Limitation**: [Description]
   [Same structure]

## Testing Strategy

**Test Cases**:
1. Happy path: [Normal execution scenario]
2. Error scenarios: [What failures to test]
3. Edge cases: [Boundary conditions]
4. Load testing: [If high volume]

**Validation**:
- Data accuracy: [How to verify]
- Performance: [Acceptable execution time]

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