Clarity
The clarity ladder
Move a vague statement, one rung at a time, into something that can be acted on.
The shape
- Vague
- General
- Specific
- Precise
- Actionable
Why that order
Each rung removes ambiguity and adds usable meaning. Most communication stops at rung two and feels finished, because general statements sound like statements.
A worked example
- Vague
- The team is having problems.
- General
- The team is struggling with delivery.
- Specific
- The team is missing sprint commitments.
- Precise
- The team missed three of the last four sprint commitments because requirements changed mid sprint.
- Actionable
- We need requirements frozen 48 hours before sprint planning.
You have it right when
The last rung is something somebody can do on Monday.
What usually goes wrong
Climbing the ladder in public. The rungs are a thinking tool. Say the top one.
A framework tells you what shape the answer takes. It cannot tell you whether shape is what you are short of, and for most people it is not. Which one is yours, and whether a framework is the right instrument at all, is what a Discovery Call is for.
Take the AssessmentOr read the whole glossary first.