wn-what-s-new

name	wn - What's New
description	Summarize what is new in a project or codebase, grouped by configurable views (day, category, skill, iteration), filtering out unchanged items.
output	{"format":"prose"}

WN - What's New

Input: $ARGUMENTS

---

Core Principles

1. New means new. Not modified, not improved, not unchanged — genuinely NEW additions that didn't exist before. The skill must distinguish new items from changes to existing items.

2. View determines grouping. The same set of new items tells different stories depending on how you group them: by time (what happened when), by category (what kind of things were added), by component (where in the system), or by theme (what pattern connects them).

3. Recency bias is real. Recent additions feel more important than they are. The skill should present new items neutrally, not weighted by how recently they appeared.

4. Context determines scope. "What's new" in a 3-day sprint is different from "what's new" in a 6-month project. The time range must be explicit.

5. New items have different sizes. A new architecture pattern and a new configuration option are both "new" but vastly different in significance. The output should make relative significance visible.

---

Phase 1: Scope Definition

[W1] PROJECT: [what project or system]
[W2] TIME_RANGE: [from when to when — or "since last review"]
[W3] SOURCE: [where to look — git log, file system, conversation history, notes]
[W4] VIEW: [by_time | by_category | by_component | by_theme | by_significance]

---

Phase 2: New Item Discovery

Scan the source for genuinely new additions:

[W-N] NEW: [item description]
  ADDED: [when]
  CATEGORY: [what kind of thing]
  COMPONENT: [where in the system]
  SIGNIFICANCE: [major | moderate | minor]
  EVIDENCE: [how we know this is new, not modified]

New vs Modified

Signal	Classification
Didn't exist before the time range	New
Existed but changed substantially	Modified (not included in /wn — use /alebc for changes)
Existed and changed minor details	Updated (excluded)
Existed and didn't change	Unchanged (excluded)

---

Phase 3: Grouping

Group new items by the selected view:

By Time

[W-N] DAY/PERIOD: [date range]
  - [item] — SIGNIFICANCE: [level]
  - [item] — SIGNIFICANCE: [level]

By Category

[W-N] CATEGORY: [category name]
  - [item] — ADDED: [when] — SIGNIFICANCE: [level]
  - [item] — ADDED: [when] — SIGNIFICANCE: [level]

By Component

[W-N] COMPONENT: [component name]
  - [item] — CATEGORY: [type] — SIGNIFICANCE: [level]

By Significance

[W-N] MAJOR:
  - [item] — [what it is] — [when added]
MODERATE:
  - [item] — [what it is] — [when added]
MINOR:
  - [item] — [what it is] — [when added]

---

Phase 4: Summary

[W-N] SUMMARY:
  TOTAL_NEW: [N items]
  MAJOR: [N items]
  MODERATE: [N items]
  MINOR: [N items]
  MOST_ACTIVE_CATEGORY: [category with most new items]
  MOST_ACTIVE_PERIOD: [time period with most additions]
  PATTERN: [any visible pattern in what's being added — optional]

---

Phase 5: Output

WHAT'S NEW
==========

PROJECT: [name]
PERIOD: [time range]
VIEW: [grouping method]

[grouped items per selected view]

SUMMARY:
  [N] new items ([N] major, [N] moderate, [N] minor)
  Most active: [category/period]
  Pattern: [if any]

NOT INCLUDED:
  - [N] modified items (use /alebc for changes)
  - [N] unchanged items

READY FOR:
- /alebc — to see big changes (not just new items)
- /iterate [component] — to improve a specific area
- /evaluate [new item] — to assess quality of something new

---

Failure Modes

Failure	Signal	Fix
Modified items included	Changes to existing items listed as "new"	Apply new vs modified test strictly
No time range	"What's new" without scope	Always define the period explicitly
Flat list	No grouping applied	Use the selected view to structure output
Significance ignored	Major and minor items presented equally	Flag significance for each item
Missing source	Guessing what's new without checking	Specify and scan the actual source
Everything is new	Time range too long, includes entire history	Narrow the time range

---

Depth Scaling

Depth	Source Scanning	Grouping Views	Significance Assessment	Pattern Analysis
1x	Single source	1 view	Binary (major/minor)	No
2x	2 sources	2 views	Three-level	Basic pattern
4x	3+ sources	3 views	Three-level + evidence	Pattern + trends
8x	All available	All views	Full + cross-reference	Full analysis

Default: 2x. These are floors.

---

Pre-Completion Checklist

• Time range explicitly defined
• Source specified and scanned
• New items distinguished from modified items
• Significance assessed for each item
• Items grouped by selected view
• Summary with counts and patterns
• Modified items excluded (noted for reference)

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Integration

• Complementary: /alebc (big changes — includes modifications, not just new items)
• Differs from /alebc: alebc shows big changes; wn shows all new additions regardless of size
• Use from: project reviews, sprint retrospectives, onboarding ("what's new since I last looked")
• Routes to: /evaluate, /iterate for assessing or improving new items