documentation/blog/2026-02-06-rp-why-skill/index.md
rp-why is your personal AI collaboration coach. It answers two critical questions:
Think of it as a fitness tracker for your AI practice—it shows you where you are, where you could be, and how to get there.
Want the theory? Check out Measuring the Cognitive Complexity of Human-AI Collaboration.
Want to use it? Keep reading.
<!-- truncate -->Without rp-why
With rp-why
Where are you on the AI adoption ladder?
| Stage | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Chatbot Curious | Basic web chatbots, occasional use |
| 3-4 | IDE Integrated | Copilot, chat in your editor |
| 5 | Agent Autonomous | CLI tools like goose running independently |
| 6-8 | Multi-Agent Master | Orchestrating multiple AI agents, agentic workflows |
How complex are your prompts?
| Level | Name | Example Prompts |
|---|---|---|
| DOK 1 | Recall | "What is X?" "List Y" "Define Z" |
| DOK 2 | Apply | "How would I...?" "Compare A and B" |
| DOK 3 | Strategic | "Design a system for..." "Analyze trade-offs..." |
| DOK 4 | Extended | "Research over multiple sessions..." "Create a framework..." |
Find yourself on the map:
LOW DOK HIGH DOK
(Simple Questions) (Complex Questions)
┌────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┐
HIGH │ │ │
STAGE │ UNDERUTILIZING │ FRONTIER │
(Powerful │ │ │
Tools) │ You have a Ferrari │ You're pushing │
│ and you're driving │ boundaries! │
│ to the mailbox. │ Document what you │
│ → Level up your │ learn. │
│ questions! │ → Share your │
│ │ discoveries! │
├────────────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
LOW │ │ │
STAGE │ LEARNING ZONE │ THINKING AHEAD │
(Basic │ │ │
Tools) │ Natural starting │ Your brain exceeds │
│ point. Focus on │ your tools! │
│ learning the tools. │ → Time to upgrade │
│ → Try one new │ your AI toolkit! │
│ capability today! │ │
└────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┘
Goal: Move toward the FRONTIER quadrant (top-right)
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ SESSION ANALYSIS ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
GAS TOWN STAGE: 5 (Agent Autonomous)
DOK DISTRIBUTION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
DOK 1 (Recall): ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 17%
DOK 2 (Apply): ████████████░░░░░░░░ 52%
DOK 3 (Strategic): ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 26%
DOK 4 (Extended): █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 5%
QUADRANT: Underutilizing
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
You have a Ferrari and you're driving to the mailbox.
→ Level up your questions!
GROWTH NUDGES
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
1. Shift 2-3 DOK 2 prompts to DOK 3 by adding "analyze trade-offs"
2. Before simple queries, ask: "Can I make this more strategic?"
3. Try one DOK 4 extended investigation this week
🪞 REFLECTION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
What's the most strategic question you could ask right now?
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| "What is a microservice?" | "How would I decide between microservices and a monolith for my project?" |
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| "How do I set up CI/CD?" | "Design a CI/CD strategy that balances speed, reliability, and team workflow for a 5-person team." |
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| "Design a caching strategy" | "Over the next few sessions, help me research, prototype, and document a caching architecture. Start by analyzing our current bottlenecks." |
/rp-why init (or /rp-why compare if you already have a baseline)/rp-why current/rp-why compare| Badge | Achievement | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 🥉 | Bronze | Reduce DOK 1 prompts below 25% |
| 🥈 | Silver | Achieve 35%+ DOK 3 prompts in a session |
| 🥇 | Gold | Complete a DOK 4 multi-session project |
| 💎 | Diamond | Reach the Frontier quadrant consistently |
| Challenge | Description |
|---|---|
| "No DOK 1" Day | Every prompt must be DOK 2+ |
| "Strategic Session" | Aim for 50%+ DOK 3 prompts |
| "Deep Dive Week" | One DOK 4 project across 5 sessions |
Install the skill:
npx skills add https://github.com/block/agent-skills --skill rp-why
Make sure you have the built-in Skills extension enabled in goose.
/rp-why init
This analyzes your conversation history and creates your personal baseline. Takes ~30 seconds.
/rp-why current
See how this session compares to your typical patterns. Are you stretching or coasting?
/rp-why compare
Compare today against your baseline. And ask yourself:
"What's the most strategic question I could ask right now?"
That's the rp-why mindset.
Q: How long does baseline generation take? A: About 30 seconds. It analyzes your available conversation history.
Q: Will this slow down my workflow? A: No! The commands take seconds. Think of it as a quick glance at your fitness tracker.
Q: What if I'm in the "Underutilizing" quadrant? A: That's the most common position for goose users! It means you have powerful tools—now it's time to ask bigger questions.
Q: How often should I check?
A: Daily /rp-why current, weekly /rp-why compare. Takes under a minute total.
Q: Can I share my progress with my team? A: Yes! The output is designed to be shareable. Screenshot or copy the quadrant visualization.