Understand
Cynefin framework
Also called Cynefin
Decide how to act by first asking what kind of situation you're in: clear, complicated, complex or chaotic.
- Time45 to 75 minutes
- People3 to 12 people
- Steps3
What it's for
Teams often use the wrong approach for the situation. They analyse a problem that needs experiments, or experiment on one that already has a known answer. Cynefin sorts situations by how cause and effect relate. When it's clear, apply what's known to work. When it's complicated, bring in expertise and analyse. When it's complex, run small safe experiments and see what happens. In chaos, act first to steady things.
In the middle sits confusion: not knowing which of the four you're in. Sorting the team's problems into the domains is often the most useful part of the session.
How to run it
List the problems10 min
The challenges the team faces, one per note.
Place them15 min
Put each in the domain that fits. Argue about the ones that move.
Match the approach15 min
For each domain, agree how you'll act on what's in it.
Tips
- Most product and organisational problems are complex. Treating them as complicated leads to big plans that break on contact.
- Clear problems can tip into chaos when people get complacent. Watch for best practice that no longer fits.
Where it comes from
Developed by Dave Snowden from 1999, at IBM and later at his own company, and introduced to many managers by A Leader's Framework for Decision Making, written with Mary Boone in the Harvard Business Review (2007).
Pairs well with
Five whys
Ask why a problem happened, then why that happened, until you reach a cause you can fix rather than a symptom.
Premortem
Imagine the project has failed, then work out why, so risks get named while there is still time to act on them.
Assumption map
Place every assumption behind a plan by how important it is and how much evidence you have, to find what to test first.