A dynamic framework for planning under simple, complicated, and complex conditions

Previous authors have built on recent advances in systems thinking to propose organizational planning and evaluation methodologies for simple, complicated, and complex situations. Others have described how organizations (and other systems) progress through natural phases over time. The proposed framework combines these approaches into a dynamic planning model, wherein the organization's context may be simple, complicated, or complex, depending on the phase of its growth. The phase of development and the context-simple, complicated, or complex-dictate the most appropriate planning methodologies. The framework also proposes that the phases of growth may differ among divisions or functions of an organization. Accordingly, different approaches to planning may be required in the various subunits of the organization, especially in those that are large.