THINKING FRAMEWORKS

Use a framework, clarify your thinking.

Start with your question. Find a suitable framework and see how to use it.

Choose by work stage

Start at a relevant stage and choose a suitable framework. The order helps you find your place; it is not a required sequence.

1. Define a problem

1-1 Identify the problem

Compare the current situation with the desired state and identify the gap.

Possible result: A problem statement and evidence of the gap

1-2 Organize the problem

Separate the issues and turn a broad concern into a question you can investigate.

Possible result: A structured question and investigation scope

1-3 Set priorities

Decide which issue needs attention first under your constraints.

Possible result: Priorities and the reasons for them

2. Understand the market and customers

2-1 Assess the environment and your business

Examine external conditions alongside your business's resources and capabilities.

Possible result: Relevant conditions, capabilities, and evidence gaps

2-2 Understand customers

Examine customer groups, needs, and experiences using available evidence.

Possible result: Customer insights and questions to check

2-3 Understand competitors

Compare competitors' offerings, activities, and capabilities.

Possible result: A comparison and possible areas of difference

3. Develop and compare ideas

3-1 Generate ideas

Explore several possible responses before judging them.

Possible result: A set of candidate ideas

3-2 Develop an idea

Turn an abstract idea into a proposal people can discuss.

Possible result: A more specific proposal and its assumptions

3-3 Compare and choose ideas

Compare candidates against explicit constraints and criteria.

Possible result: A choice, tradeoffs, and unresolved checks

4. Set a strategy and a plan

4-1 Choose a strategic direction

Consider business, market, customer, and positioning choices.

Possible result: Candidate directions and the reasons to explore them

4-2 Work out how to proceed

Examine what your direction requires and what may prevent it.

Possible result: A possible approach, dependencies, and checks

4-3 Set goals

Describe the intended result and how you will check progress.

Possible result: Goals and measures for reviewing them

5. Review and improve work

5-1 Review results

Compare what happened with what you intended and identify lessons.

Possible result: Observations, lessons, and next questions

5-2 Map how the work operates

Make activities, responsibilities, and constraints visible.

Possible result: A shared picture of the current work

5-3 Explore improvements

Consider changes to the work and what each would require.

Possible result: Improvement candidates and validation plans

6. Manage a team and work together

6-1 Align on goals

Make the team's direction and each person's contribution clear.

Possible result: Shared goals and responsibilities

6-2 Improve working relationships

Examine communication and cooperation using specific observations.

Possible result: Issues to discuss and ways to work together

6-3 Support motivation

Explore work conditions and goals without assuming what motivates each person.

Possible result: Questions, support options, and follow-up actions

7. Structure and share information

7-1 Communicate information

Organize the information so others can understand the point and its basis.

Possible result: A structured explanation or proposal

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Framework summary by scenario
Framework	Purpose	What to bring	What you will have	Limits and cautions
1-1-26W2H	Answer eight planning questions to align the purpose, audience, execution, timing, place, and resource limits of an activity.	An activity brief, known arrangements, resource limits, and unanswered questions. Bring the people responsible for operations and delivery into the review.	A compact activity brief with eight explicit dimensions, remaining checks, and a next action. Missing information stays visible.	The worksheet organizes a plan; it does not confirm demand, attendance, authorization, or feasibility. A budget cap is not actual spending, and an attendance target is not a result. The eight boxes do not represent a sequence or score.
1-2-1Logic tree	Break a broad question into explicit branches so you can examine its parts and decide what to investigate next.	One clear question, a basis for dividing it into branches, and evidence or open questions for each branch.	A structured investigation with defined branches, visible gaps, and specific checks for the next level of detail.	The shape of a tree does not establish causation or completeness. Check for overlap, missing branches, and changes in the question being answered.
1-3-1Urgency–importance matrix	Sort tasks by importance to a stated goal and urgency of their timing, then agree immediate work, scheduled work, delegation, and reductions.	A task list, relevant goals, deadlines and consequences, available time, and the people who could help. Include important preventive work that has no immediate deadline.	A four-quadrant task discussion with time reserved for important work, confirmed handoffs, and proposed reductions to review.	Classification depends on the goal and role, and can change. A task that is less important to a manager may still matter to someone else. Delegation needs capacity and agreement; the matrix does not authorize canceling obligations. Box area is not workload or time.
1-3-2Decision matrix	Compare eligible options against shared criteria and make the effects of your weights and ratings visible.	Hard constraints, at least two eligible options, weighted criteria, complete ratings, and the evidence behind them.	Calculated weighted scores alongside the original inputs, assumptions, and trade-offs.	Scores reflect the inputs; they do not prove an option is best. Screen out options that fail hard constraints and test whether small input changes alter close results.
3-1-1Brainwriting	Write separately, pass the sheets and build on earlier ideas while retaining each contribution's provenance.	One shared question, participants and facilitator, numbered sheets, time and passing rules, and known constraints.	An idea pool with sheet, round, author and parent records, plus questions for clarification and later screening.	This guide uses brainwriting, not every form of spoken brainstorming. Three people, three rounds and one idea per cell are this example's settings, not 6-3-5. Record counts and reuse do not measure independent ideas, demand or people's ability. Screen constraints after generation.
3-1-2Mandala chart	Place a topic in the center of a nine-cell grid and explore eight related directions before choosing ideas to develop.	One clear topic and ideas from several relevant perspectives.	Eight possible directions, gaps to explore, and selected ideas for further development.	The cells are perspectives, not a required sequence or proof of complete coverage. Leave a cell blank when you need more thought. Mandalachart is a registered trademark of Clover Management Research Institute; this is an independent practice worksheet.
3-1-3Morphological Analysis	Separate a problem into dimensions, combine one choice from each, and record why some combinations conflict.	A bounded question, a few distinct dimensions, choices per dimension, compatibility evidence and unknown constraints.	A choice field, traceable exclusions, a manually selected concept and its remaining validation needs.	Multiplying choice counts gives formal configurations, not feasible solutions or success probabilities. Pairwise consistency cannot establish whole-system feasibility, permission, desirability or commercial merit. Keep preferences distinct from contradictions, and revisit omitted or overlapping dimensions.
3-1-4Scenario Graph	Expand four factor pools and combine one item from each to create concrete, explicitly imagined usage stories.	A creative theme, identified who/when/where/what pools, a selection rule and explicit observation or invention status.	Four factor pools, traceable selections, at least two concrete stories and their unanswered questions.	Scenario Graph here names a who–when–where–what ideation exercise, not strategic forecasting, a causal graph or an observed journey. Random selection is not population sampling. A storyboard develops one selected story over time; this graph helps generate alternative stories first.
3-1-5Osborn’s checklist	Use nine prompts to change a product, service, or process, then select variations worth testing.	An existing product, service, process, or proposed concept to improve.	Specific variations, useful combinations, and conditions to investigate.	Prompts help generate options; they do not establish feasibility or require every variation to be implemented. Explore the nine prompts separately; do not conflate them with the seven SCAMPER categories.
3-2-1Idea concept sheet	Describe who an idea serves, the problem it addresses, how it works, and the smallest useful test.	One idea, its intended users, a problem, and an initial value hypothesis.	A concise concept with a proposed mechanism, assumptions, and a small test.	A clear concept is not proof of demand or feasibility. Avoid turning anticipated benefits into established outcomes or calling a manual test a working algorithm.
3-2-2Storyboard	Describe a user’s actions, thoughts, and feedback across key moments to reveal gaps in a proposed experience.	A user, a situation, a goal, and the important moments in the experience.	A sequence of text frames and questions for an experience test.	A coherent story does not establish usability or technical feasibility. Include failures and recovery where they matter; simple text or sketches are enough to explore the sequence.
3-3-1Pros and cons list	Compare the benefits and drawbacks of possible actions against a shared goal.	Possible actions, a common goal, constraints, and evidence for the expected benefits and drawbacks.	A side-by-side comparison with an explicit reason for choosing an action or collecting more evidence.	Counting items does not show which option is best. Consider importance, likelihood, and irreversible costs; do not treat suggested mitigations as proven solutions.
3-3-2SUCCESs checklist	Review a message through six lenses: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories.	A message, its audience, supporting evidence, and the action you want readers or listeners to consider.	A revised core message, evidence gaps, and an audience-understanding check.	Memorable wording does not establish truth, persuasion, or business results. Unexpected claims and stories still need an honest basis. Do not invent an experience or numerical score to complete the checklist.
3-3-3Value-feasibility Matrix	Compare value hypotheses and implementation conditions on separate axes, retaining unknowns and hard-limit failures.	Comparable candidates, value criteria, budget/capacity/permission records and each judgment's evidence gaps.	A two-axis comparison, explicit unknowns and a proposed test with conditions for a separate decision.	This value-feasibility matrix is not a game-theory payoff table. It supplies no total score, return rate or success probability. High value may be hypothetical; unknowns are not zeros. Resolve hard constraints first, and do not treat a high/high position as approval.
5-3-2ECRS process improvement	Examine a process through Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, and Simplify, starting with whether the work is necessary.	The current process, its trigger and required output, observed workload or errors, the people using it, and the controls that must remain.	An editable current-process description and four groups of proposed changes, with conditions and checks recorded in the relevant fields.	ECRS generates improvement options; it does not prove savings or authorize removing a control. Preserve required quality, access, safety, and handoff checks. Combining steps is useful only when they are compatible. A simpler diagram can still conceal extra work or risk for another team.

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