MENTAL MODEL · M3560

Heilmeier Catechism

DecideHigh supportDecision Science

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Updated 2026-08-05

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

A question set created by George Heilmeier, a former director of DARPA, to evaluate research proposals. It asks what you are trying to do in plain language without jargon, how the problem is handled today and what the limits of current practice are, what is new in your approach and why it will work, who cares and what difference success makes, what the risks are, what it costs, how long it takes, and what the midterm and final exams look like. Answers must be in plain language, since fluency in jargon is treated as evidence of unclear thinking.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Proposal Gate: run a project through the questions before funding rather than after failure. - Jargon Detector: force the description into plain language, which exposes vague objectives. - Baseline Test: require an explicit comparison against how the problem is solved today.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Most proposals survive review because they are stated in terms that cannot be checked, so no single question is ever answered precisely enough to be wrong. The catechism works by demanding concrete, falsifiable answers to a small number of questions, particularly what is new relative to current practice and who benefits. Vague answers become visible rather than persuasive, and the cost and schedule questions prevent an appealing idea from escaping a budget. The plain-language requirement removes the vocabulary that usually substitutes for specificity.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/1

Practice this model in one real situation:

Answer what you are trying to do in one sentence a non-specialist would understand. 2. Describe how the problem is handled today and where current methods break down. 3. State what is new in your approach and why it should work. 4. Name who benefits and what changes if you succeed. 5. Write down risks, cost, timeline, and the checkpoints that would prove progress.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

Learning progress0%

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Source support: Explicit

link
mitcommlab.mit.eduhttps://mitcommlab.mit.edu/meche/2025/03/08/the-heilmeier-catechism/ZH · Explicit
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