/cynefin-classify

name: cynefin-classify
description: "Use when facing a new problem to classify its domain (Clear, Complicated, Complex, Chaotic, Confused) and select appropriate methods."
metadata:
  instruction_budget: "20"
  framework_dependency: "mycelium"
  framework_dependency_note: "This skill is designed to run within the Mycelium framework (https://github.com/haabe/mycelium). Standalone use will skip the canvas state, theory gates, and harness behavior the skill assumes. Install: /plugin install mycelium@haabe-mycelium."

Cynefin Classify Skill

Classify problem domain and route to appropriate methods.

Preflight: Read target canvas file(s) before any Write/Edit

**Hard rule.** Before issuing `Write` or `Edit` against any `.claude/canvas/*.yml`, use the **Read tool** on that file in this session. Claude Code's Read-before-Write check requires the `Read` tool specifically — `cat`/`head`/`grep` via Bash do NOT satisfy it.

**Edit vs Write — different cost profiles** (verified 2026-05-14):

• **`Edit`** (exact-string replacement): `Read` with `limit: 1` satisfies the check at ~50 tokens. State-tracking is per-file, not per-byte — subsequent `Edit` calls work anywhere in the file. Use this for partial updates against large canvas files (e.g., `purpose.yml` at 800+ lines).
• **`Write`** (full replacement): do a **full Read** first. Write obliterates the file; you should see what you're about to replace. The `limit:1` shortcut is *not* appropriate here.

**ID-bearing entries — scan the ID space before assigning** (added 2026-05-15, v0.23.19): When adding a new component, opportunity, solution, or any other ID-bearing entry to a canvas file, run a Bash grep first to confirm the next ID in your prefix sequence is actually free:

grep -o "<prefix>-[0-9][0-9]*" .claude/canvas/<file>.yml | sort -u -t- -k2 -n | tail -3

Replace `<prefix>` with the canvas's ID prefix (`comp` for landscape, `opp` for opportunities, `sol` for solutions, `ht` for human-tasks, etc.). Then pick the next free integer, **matching the zero-padding already used in that file**. The sort is NUMERIC (`-t- -k2 -n`) rather than lexical, and that is not pedantry: a plain `sort -u` orders `ht-1` after `ht-080`, so on a canvas with inconsistent padding it reports the wrong maximum and the next ID collides. Verified on the dogfood repo 2026-08-13, where lexical sort returned `ht-1` as the highest human-task ID against an actual `ht-080`. `grep -o` is also deliberate: it matches IDs wherever they appear, including cross-references and prose, so an ID that was promised somewhere but not yet defined is not handed out twice. `validate_canvas.py` has a duplicate-ID check (lines 230-239) that catches the failure on CI, but a duplicate can persist in the working tree for days if CI isn't run between edit and discovery — see roadmap-repo `corrections.md` 2026-05-15 "Duplicate canvas ID created in landscape.yml" for the worked example.

Original failure mode: anti-pattern #7 instance #5, 2026-05-09 — agent conflated Bash `head` with the Read tool, lost ~14k tokens to a Write-fail → remedial-full-Read → re-Write loop. The `limit:1` discipline (graduated 2026-05-14, v0.23.18) prevents the second-order cost where the agent *correctly* follows the rule but full-Reads every time. The ID-scan discipline (graduated 2026-05-15, v0.23.19) prevents the related class where the agent reads enough of the file to satisfy the Edit check but not enough to see existing ID assignments — kin to anti-pattern #8 (Stale State Read).

If this skill writes to multiple canvas files, register each one first (limit:1 for Edit-only paths; full Read for Write paths) AND ID-scan any prefix you intend to assign.

See `CLAUDE.md` *Canvas writes — Read before Write* for the canonical rule.

Workflow

1. **Describe the problem** in neutral terms.

2. **Ask diagnostic questions**:

• Can we predict the outcome of actions? (Yes=Clear/Complicated, No=Complex/Chaotic)
• Do experts agree on the approach? (Yes=Clear, Somewhat=Complicated, No=Complex)
• Is the situation stable? (Yes=Clear/Complicated/Complex, No=Chaotic)
• Has this been solved before? (Yes=Clear, Similar=Complicated, No=Complex)

3. **Classify** into one of five domains using cynefin-routing.md.

4. **Select methods** appropriate to the domain:

• Clear: Best practice, checklists, automation
• Complicated: Expert analysis, options evaluation, technical spikes
• Complex: Safe-to-fail probes, experiments, continuous discovery
• Chaotic: Stabilize, act, then reassess
• Confused: Decompose into classifiable parts (formerly "Disorder"; "Aporetic" when deliberately entering this state)

5. **Cross-reference with Wardley evolution** if strategic context is available.

6. **Output**:

   ## Cynefin Classification
   Problem: [description]
   Domain: [Clear/Complicated/Complex/Chaotic/Confused]
   Confidence: [High/Medium/Low]
   Liminal: [Yes/No — is this between domains?]

   Rationale: [why this classification]

   Recommended methods:
   - [method 1]
   - [method 2]

   Warning signs of misclassification:
   - [what would indicate we got it wrong]

Canvas Output

Update `.claude/diamonds/active.yml` with the `cynefin_domain` field for the relevant diamond. If Wardley mapping was referenced, update `.claude/canvas/landscape.yml` component evolution stages.

Liminal Zones (Snowden, 2022+)

Most real decisions happen in **liminal zones** — transitional states between domains where characteristics of two adjacent domains blend. If the classification feels uncertain, you may be in a liminal zone rather than a pure domain.

| Transition | What it feels like | Action | |---|---|---| | Clear → Complicated | "We have a process but it's not covering edge cases" | Add expert analysis to the existing practice | | Complicated → Complex | "Experts disagree and new factors keep emerging" | Shift from analysis to experimentation | | Complex → Chaotic | "Our experiments aren't conv