Facilitation Over Generation

BMAD workflows take a fundamentally different approach from typical AI prompts. Instead of generating solutions directly, workflows act as facilitators who guide you through discovery processes, helping you arrive at insights and decisions yourself.

If you’ve used BMAD, you’ve felt this difference intuitively. Understanding it matters if you want to create your own workflows or improve existing ones.

Key Principles

1. Questions Over Answers

Facilitative workflows ask strategic questions rather than providing direct answers. This approach:

Activates your own creative and analytical thinking
Uncovers assumptions you didn’t know you had
Reveals blind spots in your understanding
Builds on your domain expertise and context

2. Multi-Turn Conversation

Facilitation uses progressive discovery, not interrogation:

Ask 1-2 questions at a time, not laundry lists
Think about responses before asking follow-ups
Probe to understand deeper, not just collect facts
Use conversation to explore, not just extract

3. Intent-Based Guidance

Workflows specify goals and approaches, not exact scripts:

“Guide the user through discovering X” (intent)
NOT “Say exactly: ‘What is X?’” (prescriptive)

This allows the workflow to adapt naturally to your responses while maintaining structured progress.

4. Process Trust

Facilitative workflows use proven methodologies:

Design Thinking’s phases (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test)
Structured brainstorming and creativity techniques
Root cause analysis frameworks
Innovation strategy patterns

You’re not just having a conversation. You’re following time-tested processes adapted to your specific situation.

5. YOU Are the Expert

Facilitative workflows operate on a core principle: you are the expert on your situation. The workflow brings:

Process expertise (how to think through problems)
Facilitation skills (how to guide exploration)
Technique knowledge (proven methods and frameworks)

You bring:

Domain knowledge (your specific field or industry)
Context understanding (your unique situation and constraints)
Decision authority (what will actually work for you)

The Problem vs. The Solution

Generation Approach	Facilitation Approach
”Here’s the solution"	"What are your goals?”
Produces complete output immediately	Asks 1-2 questions at a time
Single turn, bulk generation	Multiple turns, progressive discovery
”Here’s a generic answer"	"Let me understand your context”
Makes decisions for you	Offers options, you choose
No reasoning visible	Documents YOUR reasoning
You can’t explain why choices were made	You can explain every decision
Outputs feel alien	Ownership and understanding

In Practice

Traditional AI:

Problems: Generic outputs, missed context, no ownership, unexplainable deliverables

BMAD Workflow:

Benefits: Draws out your insights, maintains your ownership, captures your specific context, enables deeper exploration, creates outputs you can confidently explain and iterate on

Real-World Examples

Brainstorming Workflow

The brainstorming workflow demonstrates pure facilitation through its entire journey:

Session Setup:

"Welcome! I'm here to help with your brainstorming session. I'll guide you
through proven creativity techniques to generate innovative ideas.

**What are we brainstorming about?** (The central topic or challenge)
**What specific outcomes are you hoping for?** (Types of ideas, solutions, or insights)

Technique Selection - Offering Options:

"Ready to explore technique approaches?
[1] User-Selected Techniques - Browse our complete technique library
[2] AI-Recommended Techniques - Get customized suggestions based on your goals
[3] Random Technique Selection - Discover unexpected creative methods
[4] Progressive Technique Flow - Start broad, then systematically narrow focus

Which approach appeals to you most?"

Technique Execution - Interactive Coaching: The workflow doesn’t generate ideas. It coaches you through techniques with genuine back-and-forth dialogue.

"Let's start with: What if you could remove all practical constraints?

I'm not just looking for a quick answer - I want to explore this together.
What immediately comes to mind? Don't filter or edit - just share your initial
thoughts, and we'll develop them together."

[User responds]

"That's interesting! Tell me more about [specific aspect you mentioned].
What would that look like in practice? How does that connect to your core goal?"

Key facilitation behaviors:

Aims for 100+ ideas before suggesting organization
Asks “Continue exploring?” or “Move to next technique?” so the user controls pace
Uses anti-bias protocols to force thinking in new directions every 10 ideas
Builds on user’s ideas with genuine creative contributions
Keeps user in “generative exploration mode” as long as possible

Organization - Collaborative Synthesis:

"Outstanding creative work! You've generated an incredible range of ideas.
Now let's organize these creative gems and identify your most promising opportunities.

I'm analyzing all your generated ideas to identify natural themes and patterns.
**Emerging Themes I'm Identifying:**
- Theme 1: [Name] - Ideas: [list] - Pattern: [connection]
- Theme 2: [Name] - Ideas: [list] - Pattern: [connection]

Which themes or specific ideas stand out to you as most valuable?"

Result: A complete brainstorming session document with your ideas, organized by your priorities, with your action plans.

Create UX Design Workflow

The UX design workflow guides you through a 14-step journey from project understanding to complete UX specification. It never makes design decisions for you.

Discovery Phase:

"Welcome! I've set up your UX design workspace.

**Documents Found:**
- PRD: product-requirements.md
- Product brief: brief.md

**Files loaded:** [lists specific files]

Do you have any other documents you'd like me to include, or shall we continue?"

Then deeper questions emerge progressively:

"Based on the project documentation, let me confirm what I'm understanding...
**From the documents:** [summary of key insights]
**Target Users:** [summary from documents]
**Key Features/Goals:** [summary from documents]

Does this match your understanding? Are there any corrections or additions?"

Core Experience Definition:

"Now let's dig into the heart of the user experience.

**Core Experience Questions:**
- What's the ONE thing users will do most frequently?
- What user action is absolutely critical to get right?
- What should be completely effortless for users?
- If we nail one interaction, everything else follows - what is it?

Think about the core loop or primary action that defines your product's value."

Design Directions - Interactive Visual Exploration: The workflow generates 6-8 HTML mockup variations. You choose:

"🎨 Design Direction Mockups Generated!

I'm creating an HTML showcase with 6-8 full-screen mockup variations.
Each mockup represents a complete visual direction for your app's look and feel.

**As you explore the design directions, look for:**
✅ Which information hierarchy matches your priorities?
✅ Which interaction style fits your core experience?
✅ Which visual density feels right for your brand?

**Which approach resonates most with you?**
- Pick a favorite direction as-is
- Combine elements from multiple directions
- Request modifications to any direction

Tell me: Which layout feels most intuitive? Which visual weight matches your brand?"

The Result: A complete, production-ready UX specification document that captures your decisions, your reasoning, and your vision. This happens through guided discovery, not generation.

When Generation is Appropriate

Facilitative workflows DO generate when appropriate:

Synthesizing and structuring outputs after you’ve made decisions
Documenting your choices and rationale
Creating structured artifacts based on your input
Providing technique examples or option templates
Formatting and organizing your conclusions

But the core creative and analytical work happens through facilitated discovery, not generation.

Benefits

For Individuals

Deeper insights than pure generation. Ideas connect to your actual knowledge.
Full ownership of creative outputs and decisions.
Skill development in structured thinking and problem-solving.
More memorable and actionable results. You understand the “why”.

For Teams

Shared creative experience that builds alignment and trust.
Aligned understanding through documented exploration.
Documented rationale for future reference and onboarding.
Stronger buy-in to outcomes because everyone participated in discovery.

For Implementation

Outputs match reality because they came from your actual constraints.
Easier iteration because you understand the reasoning behind choices.
Confident implementation because you can defend every decision.
Reduced rework because facilitation catches issues early.