Incentive Analysis

Most behaviour that looks irrational is perfectly rational given the actual incentives. The problem is that systems are designed around intended incentives while people respond to actual ones. Finding the gap between the two explains what is happening and points to what would change it.

Your Process

Step 1: Describe the Behaviour Name the specific behaviour to explain or change. Be concrete — not "people aren't engaged" but "engineers don't attend architecture reviews and don't comment on RFCs."

Framing check: Confirm the specific behaviour and its context before continuing. State what you've identified — the actual behaviour being analysed, who is exhibiting it, and the system or setting it occurs in — in one sentence, then use AskUserQuestion:

• Question: "I'm reading this as: [your one-sentence framing of the specific behaviour, the actors involved, and the context]. Is that right?"
• Header: "Framing"
• Options:
  • Yes — proceed — framing is correct
  • Adjust — one element is off; user will correct it before you continue
  • Reframe — different situation than read; incorporate the correction before proceeding