Complex contexts are often high risk and unpredictable. Rather than trying to control the situation or insisting on a plan of action, the Cynefin framework helps to remind leaders and their teams that the best response it’s often to be patient, experiment with different ideas, look for patterns, and inspects the solutions that emerge.
You will only know a solution to complex knowledge work is successful AFTER the solution is applied. This includes software development. No amount of planning, documentation, or risk management, will tell you that a solution will work. Only in putting the solution together can you be assured that the plan will create the outcome you're after.
When a solution is obvious, everything is known upfront. This means that:
Use best practices Extensive communication not necessary Establish patterns and optimize to them Command and control
When problems are complicated, there are a number of “known unknowns”.
The relationship between cause and effect requires analysis or expertise as there are a range of right answers, patterns, and approaches that can be used but only when an expert assesses the problem.
Utilise experts to gain insights Use metrics to gain control Sense, analyze, respond
When a problem is complex, there are “unknown unknowns”.
Good solutions, plans and approaches to solve complex problems can only be known in hindsight. This requires people to create a plan, enact it, and then assess the results. If the results of the plan are shown to be successful, then we can progress.
Create bounded environments for action Increase levels of interaction and communication Servant leadership Generate ideas
In chaos, events are too confusing to wait for a knowledge-based response. Manages often rely on crisis management to first take control and then act.
Immediate action to re-establish order Prioritise and select actionable work Look for what works rather than perfection
In the chaotic domain, a leader’s immediate job is not to discover patterns but to staunch the bleeding. A leader must first act to establish order, then sense where stability is present and from where it is absent, and then respond by working to transform the situation from chaos to complexity, where the identification of emerging patterns can both help prevent future crises and discern new opportunities. Communication of the most direct top-down or broadcast kind is imperative; there’s simply no time to ask for input. [2]
Snowden & Boone (2007)
Examples of chaotic domains include:
The biggest mistake managers make is to assume that crisis management in chaotic domains can be used to lead people successfully in other contexts.
The biggest mistake managers make is to assume that crisis management in chaotic domains can be used to lead people successfully in other contexts. These actions are not applicable to another other domain.
In Sprint Planning:
Daily Scrum is a good time to look at the effectiveness of a solution and pivot if it's not showign signs it will create the desired outcome. At the very least, in Sprint Review, examine the outcome and get feedback from the customer that the emergent solution meets their needs. Put any feedback on adjustments into the Product Backlog and prioritise action for a future Sprint.
Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin_framework
Snowden, David J.; Boone, Mary E. (2007). “A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making”. Harvard Business Review. 85 (11): 68–76. PMID 18159787.