A
Sensemaking
framework is the codification of useful sensemaking practicesIn this context, useful specifically means helping
Build adequate, resilient,
and accessible models on which we can act in a timely
manner.
, i.e. a
Complex
System of
Concepts
that aims to facilitate building
Explicit
Models.This can happen individually or collectively. In the
collective case, the goal can also be to Support the evolution of
new implicit models instead of building more explicit ones.
A sensemaking framework is more useful
- the wider its scope of applicability, i.e. the greater its generality,
- the more detail and distinction it can accommodate, and
- the less cognitive capacity is needed to use it.
While a framework is clearly better the higher it scores
in all dimensions, large scope/high detail/low load frameworks
being the ones to look for, in reality these dimensions stand in
tension with each other: Often a general framework that allows for a
lot of detail is complicated and cognitively demanding; a general and
easy-to-use framework usually allows for little detailed insight; and in
most instances, a detail-rich framework can only cover a narrow scope if
it is to stay comprehensible.Examples for “general and easy-to-use” frameworks are
Cynefin
and Confluence,
while the Product Field falls
into the “detail rich, narrow scope” category.
In addition, while a framework can be useful to various degrees, it is a large, relatively stable, unified structure, and as such not particularly well-suited to develop and improve as a Meme via Cultural Evolution.
Therefore, to score highly in all three dimensions and benefit more fully from cultural evolution, we should Replace Sensemaking Frameworks with Scale-free Abstractions.