cynefinlisted

# Cynefin ## Overview **Cynefin** (pronounced "kuh-NEV-in"; Welsh for "habitat") is a sense-making framework by Dave Snowden (IBM, 1999). Its claim: the right decision approach depends on which of five domains the situation falls into — **Clear** (obvious cause-effect, use SOP), **Complicated** (knowable with expertise, use analysis), **Complex** (emergent, probe first), **Chaotic** (absent cause-effect, act first), **Confused** (unknown domain, decompose first). The most common and costly error: treating Complex problems as Complicated. Composes with [`ooda-loop`](../ooda-loop/SKILL.md), [`feedback-loops`](../feedback-loops/SKILL.md), [`antifragile`](../antifragile/SKILL.md), [`first-principles`](../first-principles/SKILL.md). ## When to Use - A familiar approach has stopped working and you can't articulate why - Experts disagree on the right answer — a crisis unfolding where the previous playbook doesn't apply - "Best practices from X" imported without checking if the domain matches - A team is over-planning something emergent, or "let's get more data" when data won't come without action **Not when:** domain is unambiguously Clear (execution only); small-stakes one-shot; specialized framework already fits. ## Coaching Novices (Adaptive Front Door) **Engine mode:** concrete case → run The Process. **Coach mode:** unfamiliar → guide step by step. In Coach mode, respond one step at a time. Each [WAIT] is a hard stop — output only that step's question, then stop. 1. Cl