Building a product is difficult. As a product owner we do not 100% know what problem to solve that will make the desired impact. We can only take create MVPs to validate our hypothesis. The Cynefin Framework is a sense making framework that helps product owners breakdown products in a more manageable approach.
Cynefin framework helps us rationalize how to approach the product. There are 4 domains or problem types: Simple/Clear, Complicated, Complex, and Chaos.
Problems in the Simple/Clear domain are known knowns. This means we know what the problem is, situation is stable (meaning we have time to think about the problem), there is a clear cause and effect and we have best practices. In this domain do not spend time gathering data or doing A/B testing. You already know what the solution so just apply and prioritize bigger problems.
Problems in the Complicated are known unknowns. In this domain we need to analyze the problem and need will discover a range of right answers. We need expertise to decide which approach to take. There are no best practices only good practices. This situation is stable. In this domain, spend time gathering and analyzing data or doing A/B testing. Build MVP and see what the feedback is.
Problems in Complex domain are unknown unknowns. Here cause and effect can only be discovered in retrospect. There are no right answers and you have to discover yourself how to proceed. A product exists in this domain and the goal of a product owner is to breakdown the product into smaller pieces and see what problems can be transferred to the complicated domain. Here you will design safe to fail experiments without too much investment.
The Chaotic domain is similar complex expect the situation is not stable. Things are deteriorating and you need to act fast to stabilize the situation. Here you and your team should do anything to stop the situation from degrading. It does not have to be the best approach but that’s okay.
The Cynefin framework is powerful and one easy way to apply it to your work is through the Stacey Matrix.
Stacey Matrix
The Stacey Matrix is a visually represents how much stakeholder agreement and technology agreement there is for a requirement. On the Y-axis a requirement can be close to agreement or far from agreement. On the X axis a requirement can be close to certainty (we know how to build it and what technology to use) or far from certainty (no clue how to build it, yet..). If a requirement is close to agreement and certainty then it is in the clear domain. If a requirement is in far from agreement or far from certainty then it is in the complicated domain. And finally if a requirement is far from agreement and certainty then it is in the chaotic domain. Seek to first get consensus what the stakeholders want to build and then figure out the tech stack.