Labs

David Thomas and Andy Hunt coined this core principle of software development in The Pragmatic Programmer.

Catalogue of design patterns for engaging users with data.

Robert Solows 1987 observation that “You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.”

Dave Snowden’s pattern-based theory of change model.

The Nolan Principles are a set standards for conduct in public life, established by UK Prime Minister John Major.

Lou Downe and Sarah Drummond’s shorthand for what makes a good service.

Shannon E. Thomas' framework for practitioner growth in design teams.

Alex Osterwalder's Business Model Canvas is one of the most well-known frameworks in innovation.

Tony Ulwick's JTBD framework, that seeks to decouple the outcomes (or jobs) people need, from the solutions they use to accomplish them.

Service Envelopes are a simple model for describing how service interactions unfold over time, based on a technique audio designers use to shape sound waves.

Path's adaptive typology of modes of operating for strategic change.

Arcana is Path's pattern language for product / service ecosystems.

This decision-making model attributed to Eisenhower advocates categorising decisions by importance and urgency.

Michie, Van Straalen and West's framework for the development of behavioural change interventions.

Monzo's description of their micro-services architectural pattern.

Lakoff and Johnson's exploration of the role of metaphor in shaping how people think about the world.

Jan Chipchase / Studio D's process of curated framework usage in design research.

Peter Reason's collection of articles and thinking on participatory and action research.

Michael Hallsworth's manifesto for the applied use of behavioural science.

Melvin Conway's aphorism stating that systems tend to mirror the communication structures of the organisations that produce them.

Stuart Pugh's foundational formulation of a decision-matrix, to support qualitative ranking of an option set.

Donella Meadow's famous hierarchy of leverage points or places to intervene in a system.

Classical adage, famously adopted as a motto by the Roman emperor Augustus, to "make haste slowly".

Christopher Alexander's timeless work on classic architectural patterns.

Matthew Hockenberry's fantastic compendium of resources on critical studies in logistics.

Morgan Housel's idea that maintaining firm beliefs about things that are likely not to change is a helpful response to volatility.

Shane Parrish's exploration of the idea that risk aversion can result in increased risk.

Jim Barksdale's aphorism that all value creation is the result of a process of bundling and unbundling.

Bruce Tuckman's influential model of small group formation.

Michael Erard's exploration of his work as a metaphor designer, shaping the way people understand concepts through metaphor.

Robert Metcalfe's observation stating that the financial value or influence of a network is proportional to the number of connected users.

Ken Thompson's description of the philosophy of modular sub-systems that shaped the Unix computer operating system.

Caterina Bianchini's description of her creative process for graphic design.

James Grier Miller's 1976 work on a general theory of living systems with the central thesis of levels of open systems and sub-systems.

Jeff Hiatt's framework for facilitating change.

Shane Parrish's explanation of entropy and it's impacts.

Dave Snowden's framework for making sense of boundary conditions within complexity.

John Kotter's 8 step change framework, mapping out steps in a change program.

John Gall's aphorism stating that successful complex systems invariably evolve from working simple systems.

Shane Parrish's collection of mental models or shortcuts for thinking.

Vladimir Pick's aphorism about the role of a leader to set and maintain benchmarks.

Typology for decision-making in volatile environments, originating from the US military.

Ben Thompson's theory of aggregators as innovators, building on network theory.

Shane Parrish's adaption of the Eisenhower decision-making matrix.

Robert Cialdini's model for influencing people and organisations.

David Kantor's model for family system dynamics, applicable for organisational dynamics.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb's concept of anti-fragility, or systems that gain strength through adversity.

Dan Harmon's framework for operationalising the Hero's Journey.

Joseph Campbell's concept of the monomyth that underpins human story-telling across cultures.

Martin Wolf's typology for structural sources of change.

Barbara Minto's framework for communicating detailed ideas at multiple levels of detail.

John Boyd's influential model for rapid decision-making in jet combat.