Routing Heuristics

Decision tree for picking a method. Read top to bottom; first match wins.

Phase signals — what stage is the user in?

Signal	Method
Blank page, no domain	constraint dispatch (full-prompt-library.md)
Has a domain, no project	route by domain (next section)
Has one idea, want variations	methods/scamper.md
Need many ideas fast	methods/volume-generation.md
Idea too safe	methods/lateral-provocations.md
Many ideas, need to choose	methods/premortem-and-inversion.md
Have idea, want to sharpen	methods/creative-discipline.md (Tharp's spine)
Stuck mid-project	methods/oblique-strategies.md
"Is this any good?"	methods/premortem-and-inversion.md + methods/compression-progress.md

Domain signals

Domain	Method
Fiction with formal interest	methods/oulipo.md
Narrative with story shape	methods/story-skeletons.md
Essay / non-fiction	methods/defamiliarization.md + methods/compression-progress.md
Poetry	methods/oulipo.md or methods/chance-and-remix.md
Lyrics / songwriting	methods/oblique-strategies.md + methods/chance-and-remix.md
Music / sound	methods/oblique-strategies.md (origin domain)
Visual art / sculpture / installation	methods/oblique-strategies.md, methods/creative-discipline.md (LeWitt)
Performance / theater	methods/defamiliarization.md (Brecht)
Site-specific	methods/derive-and-mapping.md
Engineering invention	methods/triz-principles.md
Software architecture	methods/pattern-languages.md
Algorithm / data structure	methods/polya.md + methods/first-principles.md
Civic / policy	methods/leverage-points.md
Org design	methods/leverage-points.md + methods/pattern-languages.md
Research / picking a question	methods/compression-progress.md
Attacking a known problem	methods/polya.md + methods/first-principles.md
Product strategy / why-does-this-exist	methods/jobs-to-be-done.md
New venture from scratch	full-prompt-library.md "solve your own itch" + methods/jobs-to-be-done.md
Career / what to study	methods/derive-and-mapping.md + methods/compression-progress.md
Habit / discipline	methods/creative-discipline.md

Mood / tone signals

User wants	Method
Beautiful / elegant	methods/compression-progress.md
Weird / strange	methods/pataphysics.md, methods/chance-and-remix.md
Useful / practical	methods/triz-principles.md, methods/jobs-to-be-done.md, "solve your own itch"
Fun / playful	methods/oulipo.md, methods/oblique-strategies.md
Serious / rigorous	methods/polya.md, methods/first-principles.md, methods/compression-progress.md
Personal / intimate	methods/creative-discipline.md, methods/derive-and-mapping.md
Political / intervention	methods/leverage-points.md, methods/chance-and-remix.md (détournement)
Critical / subversive	methods/defamiliarization.md, methods/pataphysics.md

When to stack methods (rare)

Most invocations: one method. Stack only when:

• Domain method + provocation. OuLiPo + de Bono PO when the constraint alone produces predictable output.
• Generation + selection. Crazy 8s → premortem on top three.
• Drift + pattern. Dérive then affinity-map.
• Theoretical + practical. TRIZ identifies the contradiction → biomimicry supplies the analog.

Anti-pattern: stacking three+ methods. Becomes process performance rather than ideation.

Edge cases

• Wild prompt that fits no path → constraint dispatch with the closest matching constraint.
• User asks for method recommendation, not ideas → surface 2–3 candidate methods, ask which to apply. Don't silently default.
• High-slop terrain ("AI ideas", "startup ideas", "habit tracker") → force methods/lateral-provocations.md or methods/pataphysics.md over the obvious method. Refuse the first 5 ideas, not 3.
• Same question asked again → switch methods. Variation in method = variation in idea distribution.
• User frustrated / says everything is bad → don't keep generating. methods/creative-discipline.md (Cleese open mode, Tharp scratching). Sometimes the right move is to stop ideating.
• User wants to be talked out of starting → premortem. Inversion. Sometimes the right answer is "don't do this".

Anti-patterns

1. Defaulting to constraint dispatch when the user has rich domain signals. Read first.
2. SCAMPER without a base idea. SCAMPER amplifies; doesn't generate from nothing.
3. TRIZ on artistic or social problems. Its parameters are physical/engineering.
4. Leverage points on a single-creator project. Overkill — Meadows is for multi-actor systems.
5. Reaching for the most exotic method to seem sophisticated. Constraint dispatch is right most of the time.
6. Stacking methods to compensate for not picking well. Bad choice + bad choice ≠ better choice.
7. Generating finished work when the user asked for direction. Wait until they pick.