- name
- questions-evolution
- description
- Question template for Evolution stories ('X changed from A to B'). Arc: Origin State → Pressure → Transition → New State → Reflection. Use with question-design skill.
Evolution Story Questions
Story type: "This thing changed from X to Y" Arc: Origin State → Pressure → Transition → New State → Reflection
The Shape
Evolution stories track how something transformed over time - a project, a practice, a belief, a relationship. The reader watches change unfold and learns about the forces that drive transformation.
What makes it work: The tension between what was and what became. Evolution requires pressure - something had to push against the status quo.
Question Sequence
Opening: The Origin State
*What it was before change began.*
- "What was [thing] like in the beginning?"
- "What was it designed to do? What problem did it solve?"
- "What did you believe about it then?"
- "What was working? What assumptions were you making?"
Pressure: Why Change Became Necessary
*The forces that pushed against the status quo.*
- "What started to not work?"
- "What pressure built up over time?"
- "Was there a breaking point, or gradual erosion?"
- "What could you no longer ignore?"
- "What external forces were pushing?"
Transition: How Change Happened
*The messy middle of transformation.*
- "How did the change actually happen?"
- "Was it intentional or did it emerge?"
- "What did you try that didn't work?"
- "What had to be let go of? What was hard to release?"
- "Were there false starts or wrong turns?"
New State: What It Became
*The transformed form.*
- "What is [thing] like now?"
- "What's different? What stayed the same?"
- "What can it do now that it couldn't before?"
- "What trade-offs did you accept?"
Reflection: Meta-Learning
*What this teaches about change itself.*
- "Looking back, was the change inevitable?"
- "What did this process teach you about transformation?"
- "Would you do it the same way again?"
- "How do you recognize when something else needs to evolve?"
Tacit Knowledge Triggers (Evolution-Specific)
- "What died in the transition? What was the cost?"
- "What tried to stay the same that had to change?"
- "When did you know the old way was really over?"
- "What do you miss about how it was before?"
- "What couldn't exist until after the change?"
Walking Adaptation
First quarter: Origin State (establish the baseline, comfortable territory) Second quarter: Pressure + early Transition (tension building) Third quarter: Transition completion + New State (resolution) Final quarter: Reflection (meta-learning, synthesis)
The Pressure section benefits from walking - physical movement can help process the discomfort of what wasn't working.
Example: Stockbook → Zenvestor
Opening: "What was Stockbook in the beginning? What problem were you solving?" Pressure: "What started to break? When did you know it wasn't sustainable?" Transition: "How did the decision to rebuild happen? What did you throw away?" New State: "What is Zenvestor now that Stockbook could never have been?" Reflection: "What did building the same thing three times teach you about software evolution?"
*The evolution story honors both what was and what became.*