The Question Test

Problem

Every new file in an aDNA project needs to land in one of three folders — what/, how/, or who/. Most files are obvious; edge cases cause hesitation. Is a team standup protocol a WHO thing (it involves people) or a HOW thing (it’s a process)? Is a decision record a WHAT thing (it’s knowledge) or a HOW thing (it documents a process)?

Hesitation leads to inconsistency. Inconsistency leads to files scattered across legs, breaking the navigability that makes the triad valuable.

Solution

Apply the question test (§3.1): ask “Is this about WHAT we know, HOW we work, or WHO is involved?” The answer determines the triad leg.

The decisive rule: if the file’s primary purpose is to capture knowledge, it’s WHAT. If it’s to drive action, it’s HOW. If it’s to describe people or relationships, it’s WHO.

Edge case resolution: When a file seems to span two legs, it’s trying to do two things. Split it. A meeting protocol (HOW — it’s a process) is separate from the team roster it references (WHO — it’s about people). A decision record (WHAT — it captures knowledge) is separate from the mission that prompted it (HOW — it drives action).

The test always produces exactly one answer. If it produces two, the content needs splitting, not a fourth category.

When to Use

• Every time you create a new file in an aDNA vault
• When reviewing vault structure for misplaced content
• When onboarding someone unfamiliar with the triad
• When designing ontology extensions (the extension goes under the leg its question maps to)

Example: This Vault

This file — pattern_question_test.md — lives in what/patterns/ because it answers “WHAT does this project know?” It knows about the question test pattern.

The mission file that scheduled its creation lives in how/campaigns/campaign_rosetta/missions/ because it answers “HOW does this project work?” It works by executing missions.

The governance policies in who/governance/ answer “WHO is involved?” — they define roles and authority.

Every file in this vault was placed by applying the question test. Navigate to any directory and ask “which question does this answer?” — the answer will match the triad leg it’s in.

Anti-Pattern

The miscellaneous drawer: Creating a fourth top-level directory (resources/, shared/, misc/) because some files “don’t fit.” They always fit — the question test was applied incorrectly or the file is trying to do two things.

Sorting by format: Putting all PDFs in one place, all YAML in another. Format is orthogonal to the triad. A YAML lattice definition (what/) and a YAML session config (how/) answer different questions despite sharing a format.

WHO/HOW confusion: Placing process documentation under who/ because people execute processes. The test is about the file’s primary purpose, not its participants. A sprint protocol is HOW (process); the team running it is WHO (people).

Related

• The Triad — the architectural principle the question test implements
• Ontology — the entity types within each triad leg
• Base/Extension — how new entity types inherit their triad placement
• Apply the Question Test — hands-on: use the test to classify 10 real project files