Cynefin Framework

The team has spent three weeks analysing a problem that keeps shifting. Every time they think they've nailed it, something changes. More data isn't helping, but nobody has suggested trying a different approach entirely.

Cynefin is Dave Snowden's sense-making framework. You categorise situations into five domains — Clear (best practice), Complicated (expert analysis), Complex (probe-sense-respond), Chaotic (act first), and Confusion (unclear which domain) — then match your approach to the domain rather than forcing every problem through the same method.

Its unique strength is the diagnosis it prevents: treating complex problems as merely complicated. When teams default to "more analysis" for situations that actually require experimentation and emergence, they waste time and build false confidence.

Reach for it when the team is stuck, when the chosen method isn't producing results, or when a new initiative needs the right approach from the start. The boundaries between domains matter as much as the domains themselves — things shift. It fails when used as an excuse for inaction ("it's complex, so we can't plan"), and it's unnecessary overhead when the domain is already obvious.

Your next move: Which problem on your roadmap is your team treating as Complicated (just throw more analysis at it) when it's actually Complex (you have to probe and learn) — and how much time has analysis already wasted?