Thinking Cynefin Agent Skill
When the right response mode is unclear, classify the cause-effect domain first; decompose disorder.
Install
one command, takes just this skill from the repositorynpx skills add https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-cynefinThe instruction itself
6 sections, as written by the authorCynefin 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
- State the unit. Name the decision, incident, or subsystem; if mixed, list separable parts.
- Probe cause-effect. Is the link obvious, expert-analyzable, retrospective only, or imperceptible in turbulence? Check predictability, urgency, and probe safety.
- 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.
- Mismatch check. Reject Clear if its runbook fails; Complicated if analysis cannot predict; Complex if probing is unsafe; Chaotic once safe probing becomes possible.
- 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
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.
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How to use it
Take tjboudreaux/thinking-cynefin from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal
use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.
The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the
same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.