framing-planning

name	framing-planning
description	Use this to measure how problems get represented and how much planning actually happens before action starts.

Framing and Planning

Framing Dimensions

Score episodes on observable framing behavior:

• outcome-first vs implementation-first
• system-level vs local framing
• symptom orientation vs root-cause orientation
• concrete vs abstract framing
• constraints identified early or discovered late
• hidden assumptions surfaced or smuggled in
• success criteria established or implied
• scope stable after start or creeping

Then hunt both directions with pairs of episodes:

• poor initial framing -> measurable downstream rework
• excellent initial framing -> visibly reduced total work

The second hunt matters more. It shows what the subject's best looks like.

Planning Measures

Where timestamps allow, measure:

• messages or minutes before first concrete action
• planning depth (steps named, dependencies noted, risks flagged)
• decomposition quality (did subtasks map to reality)
• does planning predict eventual success in this corpus
• do plans survive contact, bend, or get abandoned silently
• does planning become procrastination on specific task types
• does building start before requirements stabilize, and at what cost

The Verdict Table

Deliver both columns. Almost everyone has entries in each:

ACTION TOO EARLY	PLANNING TOO LONG
task types where jumping first costs rework	task types where deliberating adds no information

When It Backfires

• Judging framing with hindsight. Judge it against what was knowable then.
• Counting model-written plans as human planning. Attribute first.
• Treating "planned less" as automatically worse. Check outcomes.

One-Line Memory

Find where framing saved the day and where it sank the week.