The Configuration Lens
Every problem is made up of categories, from the highly technical terms of scientific discourse to the squishy boundaries of high school cliques.
The Configuration Lens helps us zoom in on these categories and consider what behavior results from the ways we sort people and ideas. It’s often the most powerful lens because of the way it can completely reorder the world of a problem.
GETTING STARTED WITH THE CONFIGURATION LENS
1. Pick some words or categories that are used in some specific way in relation to your problem. These can be highly formal technical terms, but they can also be jargon or slang. Why are these categories important to people and what does that tell you about their behavior?
2. Pick one of the terms from #1. Now create a 2 x 2 graph where the other axis is "good vs. bad." Put aside your reservations and go with your gut feelings about what's "good or bad." Do any of your feelings cause you to question assumptions about your problem?
3. Pick a category associated with your problem that is difficult to define. How would you explain it to an outsider? What behaviors result from the ambiguity around this term?