Cynefin
Encyclopedia
The Cynefin framework
is a model
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 Snowden
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 management
in complex social environments.
It was originally a modification of Max Boisot
'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. It was the further developed and elaborated with Cynthia Kurtz as a part of their work with the IBM
Institute of Knowledge Management (IKM). Kurtz had worked with Snowden as a part of an IBM special interest group on narrative from 1999 before joining the IKM in 2001) Kurtz and others continued this work 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.
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.
, 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. Bush
administration and the impact of religion in that process, the nature of response to bioterrorism
, as well as aspects of measurement in the British National Health Service
. 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 recognition of question patterns from citizens requests by (social) service organizations.
Its use in the context of leadership was the cover feature in the Harvard Business Review
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.
In 2011 the same paper was a Citations of Excellence winner as one of the 50 best papers published in 2007, based on research impact.
Conceptual framework
A conceptual framework is used in research to outline possible courses of action or to present a preferred approach to an idea or thought. For example, the philosopher Isaiah Berlin used the "hedgehogs" versus "foxes" approach; a "hedgehog" might approach the world in terms of a single organizing...
is a model
Scientific modelling
Scientific 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
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
word, which is commonly translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
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 Snowden
Dave Snowden
David John Snowden is a Welsh lecturer, consultant and researcher in the field of knowledge management.He has been described as an expert on tacit knowledge, and "One of the most perceptive observers of the way in which knowledge is used in organizations." In 2008 he won the Academy of Management...
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 management
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...
in complex social environments.
Origins
The Cynefin framework was originally developed in 1999 in the context of knowledge management and organisational strategy by Dave SnowdenDave Snowden
David John Snowden is a Welsh lecturer, consultant and researcher in the field of knowledge management.He has been described as an expert on tacit knowledge, and "One of the most perceptive observers of the way in which knowledge is used in organizations." In 2008 he won the Academy of Management...
It was originally a modification of Max Boisot
Max Boisot
Max Henri Boisot was 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 was also a research fellow at the Sol...
's I-Space
I-Space
The Information Space, or I-Space was developed by Max Boisot as a conceptual framework relating the degree of structure of knowledge The Information Space, or I-Space was developed by Max Boisot as a conceptual framework relating the degree of structure of knowledge The Information Space, or...
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. It was the further developed and elaborated with Cynthia Kurtz as a part of their work with the IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Institute of Knowledge Management (IKM). Kurtz had worked with Snowden as a part of an IBM special interest group on narrative from 1999 before joining the IKM in 2001) Kurtz and others continued this work 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
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...
, 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. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration and the impact of religion in that process, the nature of response to bioterrorism
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
, as well as aspects of measurement in the British National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
. 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 recognition of question patterns from citizens requests by (social) service organizations.
Its use in the context of leadership was the cover feature in the Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
Harvard 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.
In 2011 the same paper was a Citations of Excellence winner as one of the 50 best papers published in 2007, based on research impact.
See also
- Knowledge ManagementKnowledge 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...
- Narrative inquiryNarrative inquiryNarrative Inquiry emerged as a discipline within the broader field of qualitative research. It is an approach to understanding/researching the way people make meaning of their lives as narratives, linked fields are narrative analysis, narratology and life writing. Narrative Inquiry should be ...
- SensemakingSensemakingSensemaking 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 three distinct but related research areas since the 1970s: Sensemaking was introduced to...
- value networkValue networkA 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...