Summary
The Cynefin framework is a way of working out what kind of situation you’re in before deciding how to act. Dave Snowden began it at IBM in 1999. ‘Cynefin’ is a Welsh word for habitat, which his company glosses as “the multiple, intertwined factors in our environment and our experience that influence us”.
It sorts situations by how cause and effect relate. In clear ones the link is obvious and best practice applies. Complicated ones need analysis or expertise. In complex ones the link shows only in hindsight, so you probe with small experiments, then respond. Chaotic ones call for acting first. A fifth, confusion, is not knowing which applies.
Rationale
Cynefin gave us the distinction Part 1 leans on: culture is complex, so cause and effect are “difficult, maybe impossible, to reliably track”. Its author, Dave Snowden, was interviewed for this inquiry.
Diagram not reproduced here (rights reserved) — see it at thecynefin.co ↗