We are pleased to present this monograph on frame reflection. As the authors note:
“Our hope is that the insights gained from institutional barriers in the modern military may provide insights for designers in other walks – with ideas on framing messy situations. We have advocated that frame reflection is essential to design practice in a military context, yet institutional pressures to conform typically prevent game-changing perspectives from being employed. We have argued that frame reflection serves a designer’s deeper understanding of complex situations. The military has encountered complexity and all of the associated ambiguity, chaos, and confusion in modern conflict. Facing irregular situations with regular frames of reference seems a common problem with institutions in general (this is why social scientists have defined institutionalization as an “iron cage” or “psychic prison”.
Frame Reflection:A Critical Review of US Military Approaches to Complex Situations
Ben Zweibelson, Major, US Army
Grant Martin, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army
Dr. Christopher Paparone, Colonel (retired), US Army