Knowledge Funnel
Updated 2026-08-22
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The knowledge funnel, proposed by Roger Martin, is a three-stage maturity ladder: a mystery is a fuzzy, ill-defined problem; a heuristic is a rule of thumb that works part of the time; an algorithm is a repeatable, scalable process. The core claim is that knowledge moves from chaos toward executability, and each stage down the funnel raises certainty and transferability. The key limit is that stage determines management style: exploration early, standardization late.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Maturity ladder: locates a problem at mystery, heuristic, or algorithm so you manage it accordingly. - Tolerate early chaos: let the mystery stage stay unresolved while exploration runs. - Codify what works: harden a reliable heuristic into a documented algorithm or process.
Anchor fast decisions
Martin models knowledge maturity in three stages: the mystery, where the problem is ill-defined, the heuristic, a rule of thumb that partly works, and the algorithm, an explicit, replicable, scalable process. Each step down raises certainty and transferability, so the funnel explains how a craft becomes an industrialized capability.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Design_of_Businessverified
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