Cynefin framework

• conceptual framework
• "sensemaking" device
• different situations require different ways to navigation
• 5 decision making contexts

simple, obvious, clear

• 1. Sense
  • the situation
• 2. Categorize
  • the situation into a know bucket
• 3. Respond
  • with a well-known solution

• best-practice

• The 1 way solution

• clear cause-and-effect

• relationships are evident to everyone

• a right answer exists

• tags.known-knowns

• Example: solving a simple arithmetic problem

complicated

• 1. Sense
  • the problem
• 2. Analyze
  • the problem & roadmap
• 3. Respond
  • with a plan
    • better said "THE PLAN"
    • blue print
      • the truth is in here
  • you're looking for an expert...?

• best-practice

• 1+1=2

• have risk, known unknowns that can go wrong

• tags.known-unknowns

complex

• 1. Probe
  • experiment-evaluate-repeat
  • gathering knowledge
• 2. Sense
  • dive into the new and determine next steps
• 3. Respond
  • take action moving the problem into the complicated domain

• emerging practice

• "The truth is out there somewhere"

• clear only in retrospect.

• "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"

• domain of uncertainty, unknown unknowns.

• "Wicked problems"

  • there are no good answers
  • the path will be created with every step
  • the art of learning how to play (metagame)

• context is most important

• Almost any problem that involves humans tends to be a complex problem.

• This is the realm of heuristic and principle, pointing you in the general direction of ways to classify the problem, and general approaches that seem to work for a specific pattern.

chaotic

• 1. Act
  • really..trust your instinct
  • get out of the immediate danger zone
• 2. Sense
  • once out of the immediate danger zone, assess the situation and determine next steps
    • inspiration guide (how to act when all hell breaks loose)
• 3. Respond
  • take action to move your problem to another domain

• Novel Pratice

• Knowledge gathered throughout lifetime is only partial useful

• When hell breaks loose, don't freeze, get out or get hurt of worse

• disorder

• if you don't know where you are, if you feel lost in the woods

• gather information -> identify the domain -> move on

When you believe

• all is simple
• everthing is ordered
• past success makes you unvulnerable to future failure before you know it the chaotic domain grabs you by the throat and drags you into a ciris(simple domain -> chaotic domain)

Moving through domains

• chaotic -> complex -> complicated -> simple
• simples -> chaotic (clockwise move; "buildup of biases", complacency, lack of maintenance, )
• counter-clickwise movement; people die and Knowledge is forgotten, new generation question the rules, etc.
• chaotic -> simple (counter-clockwise push; lack of order causes rules to be imposed suddenly)

Disorder (Confusion)

Sits at the center, representing the state where you don't know which of the other four domains (Obvious, Complicated, Complex, Chaotic) applies, leading to disorientation and ineffective action.

Links

• About - Cynefin Framework - The Cynefin Co
• The Cynefin Framework - A Leader's Framework for Decision Making and Action. - YouTube
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin_framework
• dave-snowden
• complex-complicated
• complex-systems
• complexity
• complexity-cliff
• wicked-problem
• The Cynefin framework - Complicated, Complexity, Chaos | Deep Code Experiment: Episode 3]
• (1) Taylor Pearson auf X: „8/ The Cynefin Framework from James Snowden is really helpful for understanding when you are dealing with a complex system as opposed to a simple, complicated or chaotic one - https://t.co/y69TfNsxla“ / X