The
Cynefin frameworkFramework may refer to:*Software framework*Framework , the first office suite to run on the original IBM PC under the MS-DOS operating system.*Process framework such as iTIL or Enhanced Telecom Operations Map...
is a
modelScientific modelling is the process of generating abstract, conceptual, graphical and/or mathematical models. Science offers a growing collection of methods, techniques and theory about all kinds of specialized scientific modelling....
used to describe problems, situations and systems. The model provides a typology of contexts that guides what sort of explanations and/or solutions may apply. Cynefin is a Welsh word, which is commonly translated into English as 'habitat' or 'place', although this fails to convey its full meaning. A more complete translation of the word would be that it conveys the sense that we all have multiple pasts of which we can only be partly aware: cultural, religious, geographic, tribal etc. The term was chosen by the Welsh scholar
Dave SnowdenDavid John Snowden is a Welsh lecturer, consultant and researcher in the field of knowledge management, known for his work on the role of narrative and sensemaking in organisational strategy...
to illustrate the evolutionary nature of complex systems, including their inherent uncertainty. The name is a reminder that all human interactions are strongly influenced and frequently determined by our experiences, both through the direct influence of personal experience, and through collective experience, such as stories or music.
The Cynefin framework draws on research into complex adaptive systems theory, cognitive science, anthropology and narrative patterns, as well as evolutionary psychology. It "explores the relationship between man, experience and context" and proposes new approaches to communication, decision-making, policy-making and
knowledge managementKnowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
in complex social environments.
Origins
The Cynefin framework was originally developed in 1999 in the context of knowledge management and organisational strategy by
Dave SnowdenDavid John Snowden is a Welsh lecturer, consultant and researcher in the field of knowledge management, known for his work on the role of narrative and sensemaking in organisational strategy...
. It was originally a modification of
Max BoisotMax Henri Boisot is Professor of Strategic Management at the ESADE business school in Barcelona, Associate Fellow at Templeton College, University of Oxford, and Senior Associate at the Judge Institute of Management Studies at the University of Cambridge. He is also a research fellow at the Sol...
's I-Space combined with the study of actual, as opposed to stated management practice in IBM. By 2002 It had developed to include complex adaptive systems theory and had started to become a general strategy model. . From 2003 it was the further developed and elaborated with Cynthia Kurtz as a part of their work with the
IBMInternational Business Machines is a multinational computer, technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, North Castle, New York, United States. IBM is the world's fourth largest technology company and the second most valuable by global brand...
Institute of Knowledge Management. and with other colleagues in
Cognitive Edge formed by Snowden when he left IBM in 2005. This period included work to extend the model to Leadership with Mary E Boone which culminated in the HBR article referenced below.
Description of the framework
The Cynefin framework has five domains. The first four domains are:
- Simple, in which the relationship between cause and effect is obvious to all, the approach is to Sense - Categorise - Respond and we can apply best practice.
- Complicated, in which the relationship between cause and effect requires analysis or some other form of investigation and/or the application of expert knowledge, the approach is to Sense - Analyze - Respond and we can apply good practice.
- Complex, in which the relationship between cause and effect can only be perceived in retrospect, but not in advance, the approach is to Probe - Sense - Respond and we can sense emergent practice.
- Chaotic, in which there is no relationship between cause and effect at systems level, the approach is to Act - Sense - Respond and we can discover novel practice.
The fifth domain is
Disorder, which is the state of not knowing what type of causality exists, in which state people will revert to their own comfort zone in making a decision. In full use, the Cynefin framework has sub-domains, and the boundary between simple and chaotic is seen as a catastrophic one: complacency leads to failure.
Applications
The work of Snowden and his team was initially in the areas of
knowledge managementKnowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
, cultural change and community dynamics. It subsequently became also concerned with some critical business issues, such as product development, market creation and branding. More recently, their work also involved issues of organizational strategy and national security.
Others have used the Cynefin framework for such purpose as analysing policymaking within the
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009, and the 46th Governor of Texas, serving from 1995 to 2000....
administration and the impact of religion in that process , the nature of response to
bioterrorismBioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents , that may be in a naturally-occurring or in a human-modified form...
, as well as aspects of measurement in the British
National Health ServiceThe National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the four single-payer publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom, collectively or individually, although only the health service in England uses the name 'National Health Service' without further qualification...
. It has also been used for the retrospective study of emergency situations , the management of food chain risks. , to study the interaction between Civilians and Military during disaster control. , as well as recognization of question patterns from citizens requests by (social) service organizations.
Impact
The Cynefin framework and related open source methods are in extensive use by a large and growing group of practitioners worldwide, BT,
IBMInternational Business Machines is a multinational computer, technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, North Castle, New York, United States. IBM is the world's fourth largest technology company and the second most valuable by global brand...
,
Oracle CorporationOracle Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing enterprise software products — particularly database management systems. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, United States, Oracle employs more than 115,000 people worldwide...
and
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices. Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA, its most profitable products are the Microsoft Windows operating system...
being the best-known examples.
Its use in the context of leadership was the cover feature in the
Harvard Business ReviewHarvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
in November 2007. The article in question was designated as the 2007 Best Practitioner-Oriented Paper in Organizational Behavior by the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management with the following citation This paper introduces an important new perspective that has enormous future value, and does so in a clear way that shows it can be used. (The article) makes several significant contributions. First, and most importantly, it introduces complexity science to guide managers' thoughts and actions. Second, it applies this perspective to advance a typology of contexts to help leaders to sort out the wide variety of situations in which they must lead decisions. Third, it advises leaders concerning what actions they should take in response.
See also
- Knowledge Management
Knowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
- Narrative inquiry
Narrative Inquiry emerged as a discipline within the broader field of Knowledge Management. It is an approach to understanding behavior through large collections of anecdotal material. It should be clearly distinguished from storytelling. Narrative Inquiry is a fairly recent movement in social...
- Sensemaking
Sensemaking is the process by which people give meaning to experience. While this process has been studied by other disciplines under other names for centuries, the term "sensemaking" has primarily marked two distinct but related research areas since the 1970s. At this time, sensemaking was...
- value network
A value network is a business analysis perspective that describes social and technical resources within and between businesses. The nodes in a value network represent people . The nodes are connected by interactions that represent tangible and intangible deliverables. These deliverables take the...