A framework is a tool for organizing information. A good framework has six characteristics.
It has a specific use
A framework should help organize information around one topic or question. Frameworks should not be general tools.
It helps to identify the necessary information and it filters out the unnecessary information
What is the minimum that you need to know to make a good decision? A framework should supply this easily and without interference. Most information is unnecessary to the immediate task. Therefore, a framework should not be organizing it! A framework should not waste your time with irrelevant information.
It is simple to use
A simple framework speeds up analysis. The faster we can grasp a situation and how it is changing, the faster we can act and react. Simple frameworks give us speed and learning. It is also the case that complex frameworks simply are not used by very many people.
It provides useable insight
A framework is only as good as its insights. The relationships a framework helps you to identify should be ones on which users can have an effect. If a framework only ever helps you see what you and everybody else already knows, then you do not really need that framework.
It encourages and rewards deeper learning
A simple framework can provide opportunities for deeper levels of understanding. While the most basic Dividers and Connectors Analysis provides a wealth of useful and useable information, Do No Harm has several additional pieces that can be explored to gain greater and greater understanding of a context.
It encourages more effective communication
A framework should organize information so that the relationships are clear. This facilitates ease and rapidity of communication. A good framework can also introduce a common language and those who share it can understand each other and a situation even more rapidly.
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Related Topics
Using the Do No Harm Frameworks
The Action Framework
