Principlev1

Measure decision latency, problem recurrence, and

Measure decision latency, problem recurrence, and strategy-execution gaps as proxies for accumulated schema debt.

Why This Is a Principle

This principle follows from Belief Perseverance Against Contradictory Evidence (systems maintain existing beliefs) and When espoused values and basic underlying assumptions (when espoused values conflict with basic assumptions, assumptions win). It prescribes behavioral indicators as detection mechanisms for invisible schema obsolescence, since schema debt cannot be directly measured.

Source Lessons

L-1635

Organizational schema debt

Outdated schemas that no one updates create a growing liability — organizational schema debt. Like technical debt, schema debt accumulates silently: each outdated assumption imposes a small cost on every decision it influences, and the costs compound as the gap between the organization's mental models and reality widens. Unlike technical debt, schema debt is invisible until it produces a failure large enough to force examination.

Connections

Derived From (2)

AxiomBelief Perseverance Against Contradictory Evidence AxiomWhen espoused values and basic underlying assumptions

Back to Concepts