Thinking Cynefin

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 9a5557e61022 · 23 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publishertjboudreaux GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source foldertjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/skills/thinking-cynefinThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict9a5557e61022A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 77 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: When the right response mode is unclear, classify the cause-effect domain first; decompose disorder.

---
name: thinking-cynefin
description: When the right response mode is unclear, classify the cause-effect domain first; decompose disorder.
disable-model-invocation: true
---

# Cynefin Classification

Classify by cause-effect, then use only the matching response mode. Wrong-domain method is the failure mode.

## When to Use

- Unsure whether to run a playbook, analyze, probe, or stabilize.
- A method keeps failing and domain mismatch is plausible.
- A novel or mixed problem needs approach selection before solution work.

## When NOT to Use

- Domain and method are already agreed—execute.
- Task is finding a specific cause, not choosing an approach.
- Classification done; switch to the domain method—do not re-label endlessly.
- Pure mechanical edits with no approach uncertainty.

## Procedure

1. **State the unit.** Name the decision, incident, or subsystem; if mixed, list separable parts.
2. **Probe cause-effect.** Is the link obvious, expert-analyzable, retrospective only, or imperceptible in turbulence? Check predictability, urgency, and probe safety.
3. **Assign one domain per unit:**
   - **Clear** — obvious → Sense → Categorize → Respond with a runbook.
   - **Complicated** — expert-analyzable → Sense → Analyze → Respond; several valid answers.
   - **Complex** — emergent → Probe → Sense → Respond with safe-to-fail probes; amplify/dampen signals.
   - **Chaotic** — no safe sensing time → Act → Sense → Respond; stabilize first.
   - **Disorder** — unknown → split and classify each part.
4. **Mismatch check.** Reject Clear if its runbook fails; Complicated if analysis cannot predict; Complex if probing is unsafe; Chaotic once safe probing becomes possible.
5. **Commit and stop.** Output domain + first actions. Re-classify only on evidence of domain shift.

**Stop when** every unit has one domain, first actions, and a falsifier—or disorder is decomposed.

## Output

```text
unit: <decision/incident/part>
domain: clear | complicated | complex | chaotic | disorder
evidence: <cause-effect basis>
response_mode: <Sense-Categorize-Respond | Sense-Analyze-Respond | Probe-Sense-Respond | Act-Sense-Respond | decompose>
first_actions: <1-3 concrete steps>
falsifier: <what forces reclassification>
parts: <only if disorder>
```

## Verification

- **Falsify:** Reliable prediction → not Complex. No safe probe → Chaotic. Working runbook → Clear.
- **Stop:** Stop classifying once the matched action is clear.
- **Over-application guard:** Do not call work Complex to avoid analysis or Complicated to avoid a standard fix. One label per unit; decompose multi-domain work.

Excerpt, first 2,602 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills
git -C cc-thinking-skills checkout 9a5557e61022

Works in

1. 2026-10-23
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 9a5557e61022

Questions about Thinking Cynefin

• github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/tree/main/skills/think — the audited source at commit 9a5557e61022 and every finding aboveObserved · 23 Oct 2026

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