Toolkit — Worksheets¶

These worksheets are designed to be copied into markdown, filled in collaboratively, and treated as living artifacts. They are intentionally short. If you need more than one page to fill one out, you are likely over-scoping the system.

Worksheet 1 — Observable Failure Statement¶

Rule: no system work without this.

Fill-in¶

Situation (where/when):¶

Recurring symptom (what happens repeatedly):¶

Consequence / cost (what it causes):¶

Who is impacted:¶

Frequency / duration:¶

Validation checks¶

☐ An outsider could witness it
☐ It is not written as an aspiration (“we need alignment…”)
☐ It contains at least one concrete consequence
☐ It implies a decision that keeps failing

Worksheet 2 — Problem Frame Selection¶

Choose the dominant failure location.

☐ Strategy: we fail to choose what matters (priority/investment/scope drift)
☐ Discovery: we fail to learn what’s true (assumptions persist untested)
☐ Delivery: we fail to move work (flow, predictability, quality)
☐ Cooperation: we fail across boundaries (ownership, interfaces, dependency friction)
☐ Evolution: we fail to adapt/scale (drift, fragmentation, governance inflation)

Evidence supporting the chosen frame:¶

Secondary frame (if any):¶

Worksheet 3 — Decision Type Declaration¶

Rule: pick one primary decision type.

Primary decision optimized:

☐ Priority
☐ Scope
☐ Ownership
☐ Sequencing
☐ Investment
☐ Diagnosis
☐ Repair

Write the decision as a sentence:

“We are trying to make the ______ decision safer/faster/harder to avoid.”¶

How we currently avoid this decision:¶

What “better” looks like (observable):¶

Worksheet 4 — Object of Control Selection¶

Choose 1–2 max.

Primary object(s) of control:

☐ Goals
☐ Work items
☐ Interfaces
☐ Domains
☐ Constraints
☐ Incentives
☐ Information flow

For each chosen object:

Object:¶

Who can change it (authority):¶

How often it changes (cadence/event):¶

Why changing it should reduce the failure (assumption):¶

Worksheet 5 — System Landscape Matrix (Lightweight)¶

List the systems actually shaping decisions today.

For each system:

System name:¶

Primary decision type it optimizes:¶

Lifecycle location: strategy / discovery / delivery / cooperation / evolution¶

Unit of analysis: individual / team / multi-team / org / ecosystem¶

Object(s) of control:¶

Artifact produced:¶

Constraint / enforcement mechanism:¶

Known misuse / failure mode:¶

Landscape outputs¶

Collisions (at least 2):¶

*

What should be removed/subordinated before adding anything new:¶

Worksheet 6 — System Decomposition Table¶

Use this to evaluate any existing framework or process.

One-sentence system spec¶

“System X reduces __ failure by optimizing _ decisions through control of , producing artifacts, enforced by constraints, at the ___ unit of analysis.”¶

Dimension fill-in¶

1) Problem frame (target failure + location):¶

2) Primary object of control:¶

3) Unit of analysis:¶

4) Causality model: linear / feedback / flow / evolution / socio-technical¶

5) Decision type optimized (primary):¶

6) Artifacts produced (inspectable outputs):¶

7) Vocabulary & boundary rules (what must be precise; what is disallowed):¶

8) Operating mode (cadence, triggers, facilitation needs):¶

9) Failure & misuse model (3 predictable misuses):¶

* *

10) Adoption path (who first; minimal viable use; time to first value):¶

Fit decision¶

☐ Adopt
☐ Adapt
☐ Subordinate
☐ Reject

Reason (1–3 sentences):¶

Worksheet 7 — System Contract (Deliberate Invention)¶

Rule: if any field is missing, the system is invalid.

1) Target situation:¶

2) Observable failure:¶

3) Root-cause assumption:¶

4) Object(s) of control (1–2):¶

5) Decision optimized (primary):¶

6) Artifact(s) produced:¶

7) Non-negotiable constraint + default:

Constraint:
Default when violated:

8) Misuse warnings + mitigations (at least 3):

Misuse:
Mitigation:
Misuse:
Mitigation:
Misuse:
Mitigation:

9) Adoption path:

Who can use it first:
Minimal viable use (smallest run):
Time to first value (what changes quickly):
Scaling note (what must change to scale):

Worksheet 8 — Minimal Viable System Builder¶

Core formula: one decision + one artifact + one constraint + one default.

Decision (type + sentence):¶

Artifact (name + required fields):¶

Constraint (rule):¶

Default (automatic outcome if avoided):¶

Misuse warning (most likely):¶

Mitigation (change artifact/constraint/authority):¶

First run plan (who/when/where):¶

Expected visible improvement after 1–2 cycles:¶

Worksheet 9 — System Review Scorecard¶

Review outcome must be one of: keep / modify / subordinate / remove.

System under review:¶

Original target failure (still present?):

Evidence:

Decision clarity (0–2):

0 = unclear; 1 = somewhat; 2 = explicit and consistent
Score:

Artifact inspectability (0–2):

0 = missing/unused; 1 = inconsistent; 2 = inspectable + used
Score:

Constraint enforcement (0–2):

0 = optional; 1 = partial; 2 = enforced + defaults trigger
Score:

Misuse resistance (0–2):

0 = dominated by misuse; 1 = mixed; 2 = misuse managed
Score:

Landscape compatibility (0–2):

0 = colliding; 1 = some overlap; 2 = clear precedence
Score:

Total (0–10):¶

Decision: keep / modify / subordinate / remove¶

Change list (if modify/subordinate):¶

Retirement plan (if remove):¶

Worksheet 10 — Replace vs Stack Gate¶

Use this before introducing any new system.