Cynefin Framework

Origin. Dave Snowden at IBM (1999); developed at Cognitive Edge.

Mechanism. Classifies situations into five domains by the relationship between cause and effect: Clear (obvious cause-effect, best practice applies), Complicated (cause-effect discoverable by analysis, good practice applies), Complex (cause-effect only coherent in retrospect, probe-sense-respond), Chaotic (no cause-effect relationship perceivable, act-sense-respond), and Confusion (don't know which domain). Different domains require different approaches; applying complicated-domain analysis to complex problems fails.

Procedure. Assess the situation: is cause-effect obvious, discoverable, emergent, or absent? Match the response to the domain. Clear: sense, categorize, respond with best practice. Complicated: sense, analyze, respond with expertise. Complex: probe, sense, respond — run safe-to-fail experiments. Chaotic: act, sense, respond — stabilize first. Avoid the Confusion domain by moving to assessment.

Applies to. Choosing problem-solving approach, understanding why analysis fails, organizational sense-making.

Limitations. The framework is a sense-making tool, not a decision procedure. Cynefin helps you think about what kind of problem you face, but it does not tell you what to do. Misuse involves treating domain assignment as a solution.