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Documentation Index

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PWS is not a checklist. It is a way of thinking about ventures as wicked problems — problems that must be reframed before they can be solved, and that demand a working memory because no one can hold the whole thing in their head. MindrianOS delivers PWS through Larry’s conversations. You describe what you are doing. Larry routes you to the right framework at the right stage, chains the output of one framework into the input of the next, and pushes back when your confidence outruns your evidence.

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Prof. Lawrence Aronhime and the source of the methodology

PWS was built and tested through 20 years of teaching by Prof. Lawrence Aronhime. The framework sequencing rules that Larry follows — which framework to use, in what order, under what conditions — were not derived from theory. They were discovered by watching 100+ students apply frameworks to real ventures and recording what worked, what failed, and why. That observational record is the moat. It is what separates Larry from a model that can list frameworks from a teaching partner that knows when to reach for each one.
The Brain’s 163 Framework → Framework edges across 27,904 nodes and 19,987 relationships are direct artifacts of Prof. Aronhime’s teaching corpus — real classroom observations compiled into a queryable graph.

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The four problem types

PWS classifies every venture problem into one of four types. The classification determines which frameworks apply and in what order.

Un-Defined

The problem space is not yet clear. Frameworks: Domain Explorer, Trending to Absurd, Scenario Planning, S-Curve Analysis. The work is decomposition and sense-making.

Ill-Defined

The problem is partially visible but not well-structured. Frameworks: JTBD, Ackoff Problem Dissolving, Beautiful Question, Known-Unknowns Mapping. The work is sharpening the frame.

Wicked

The problem resists simple definition and changes as you understand it. Frameworks: Six Thinking Hats (Bono), Reverse Salient, Nested Problems. The work is managing complexity and stakeholder perspectives.

Well-Defined

The problem is clear and bounded. Frameworks: Minto Pyramid Principle, Triple Validation, Investment Thesis, Grading. The work is structuring the argument and validating evidence.
Larry detects the problem type from your conversation and routes you to the right framework cluster. You never have to classify the problem yourself.

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Framework chaining: how one output becomes the next’s input

The power of PWS is not in any single framework — it is in chaining them so each framework’s output becomes the next one’s input. This is the FEEDS_INTO relationship in the Brain’s knowledge graph: 163 Framework → Framework edges encoding real sequencing rules discovered through classroom observation.
Source frameworkOutputTarget frameworkBecomes
Domain ExplorerSub-domainsSix Thinking Hats (Bono)Hats (one per perspective)
Domain ExplorerSub-domainsJTBDPersonas (one per stakeholder)
Domain ExplorerSub-domainsScenario PlanningUncertainty axes
Six Thinking HatsHat insightsJTBDContext per persona
Six Thinking HatsHat insightsMintoEvidence for the pyramid
JTBDUnmet jobsMintoSCQA complication
JTBDUnmet jobsDevil’s AdvocateAssumptions to test
MintoThesisDevil’s AdvocateTarget for stress-testing
MintoThesisInvestment ThesisCore thesis
Devil’s AdvocateSurvivorsInvestment ThesisValidated evidence
HSIBridgesDomain ExplorerNew domains to explore
Reverse SalientBottlenecksMintoComplication framing

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The four standard chains

Four chains cover the most common venture trajectories. Larry selects the chain that fits your stage and problem type.

Chain A — Problem to Thesis

Domain Explorer → Six Thinking Hats → JTBD → Minto → Devil’s Advocate → Investment ThesisStart with an undefined problem space. Decompose into domains, stress-test through six perspectives, find the unmet jobs, structure the argument, challenge the thesis, then validate the investment case.

Chain B — Discovery to Validation

HSI → Domain Explorer → Validation → MintoStart with a structural insight or bridge between domains. Expand it through domain decomposition, validate the claim against evidence, then structure the argument.

Chain C — System Analysis

Domain Explorer → Reverse Salient → JTBD → Six Thinking Hats → MintoStart with a domain map, identify the lagging component that is holding the system back, find the jobs that component is failing to do, stress-test through six perspectives, then structure the argument.

Chain D — Full Venture

Domain Explorer → HSI → Six Thinking Hats → JTBD → Scenario Planning → Minto → Devil’s Advocate → Investment ThesisThe full chain from domain decomposition through investment validation. Used when a venture is being built from first principles across all stages.

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Why timing is the moat

Anyone can list frameworks. The moat is knowing which framework you need at the stage you are in, and reaching for it the moment you are stuck — before you ask for it by name. A model trained on methodology can tell you what JTBD is. Larry knows when JTBD is the right move: after Domain Explorer has produced sub-domains that need persona mapping, when your problem is Ill-Defined and the unmet jobs are still invisible, when the Bono hats have produced hat insights that need to be sorted by stakeholder. That timing comes from decades of teaching calibration, not from the text of a methodology paper.

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The Brain amplifies PWS

When the Brain is connected, Larry’s framework sequencing is powered by a live knowledge graph with 27,904 nodes, 19,987 relationships, 163 Framework → Framework edges, and ~7,900 traversable chains at depth 1–4. The Brain holds the chaining rules, the phase progressions, and the grading rubric calibrated from 100+ real student projects. 
Brain query: suggest_chain(room_state, problem_type, user_history)
Brain returns: ranked framework chain with confidence scores
Larry: "Based on where you are, the next move is JTBD.
        Your Domain Explorer produced 5 sub-domains —
        each one maps to a persona with unmet jobs."

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Tier 0 — full methodology without the Brain

When the Brain is not connected, the pedagogy is still intrinsic. The references/ directory carries a curated subset of the Brain’s framework corpus as local text files, plus static chain suggestions and the mode algorithm. Tier 0 Larry is good. Tier 1 Larry (with Brain) is a master teacher. The difference is a textbook versus the professor who wrote it.
TierBrain statusWhat Larry has
Tier 0Not connectedEmbedded framework references, static chain suggestions, mode algorithm
Tier 1ConnectedLive graph enrichment, dynamic chain recommendations, grading calibration, mode intelligence
Larry never tells you which tier is active. There is no degraded mode message. The teaching continues either way.

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