A problem family — different problems, same issues

the context you didn’t design for

31 problems across 12 fields

These 31 problems share a pattern invisible from within any single domain: interventions designed for one institutional context fail in another because they assume infrastructure, behaviors, and stakeholder relationships that don't exist. As the collection grew, nine problems described by the institutions living with them transformed the family: BRAC's play-based learning undone by government schools, CSIR SA's solar models assuming fixed roofs on legally owned structures, ICIMOD's warning systems assuming cellular infrastructure, IRRI's seed systems assuming formal supply chains. their share of the family rose from one in twenty to one in three, reframing it from 'technology fails in poor settings' to 'design embeds assumptions about context.' The most significant qualitative change in the collection.

The intervention was designed for a world with reliable electricity, trained technicians, functioning supply chains, and cooperative institutions — then deployed to a world that has none of these things.

Ways this shape shows up

Health-system infrastructure mismatch. Health interventions assume clinical infrastructure, staffing, and supply chains that don't exist in deployment settings
Climate/warning system infrastructure mismatch. Warning systems assume cellular/radio communication infrastructure that doesn't exist in deployment areas
Education infrastructure mismatch. Education standards assume resources, lab access, and pedagogical continuity that under-resourced institutions lack
Humanitarian deployment mismatch. Humanitarian interventions assume cultural context, accessibility, and institutional continuity that displaced populations lack
Agricultural extension infrastructure mismatch. Agricultural programs assume machinery access, market connections, formal seed systems, and surveillance coverage that smallholders lack
Research/education infrastructure mismatch. Equipment donation assumes maintenance ecosystem — power, spare parts, trained operators — that doesn't exist
Environmental technology transfer failure. Treatment/technology designed for one geological or infrastructural context fails in structurally different conditions

The 31 problems in this family

the machines exist, the burning continuesbuilt without the people who'd live with itmedium

ninety percent of fields unsurveyedbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

flood-proof rice, flood-blocked deliverytested in the wrong worldhigh

the warning system nobody maintainsbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

the forecast speaks celsius, the farmer needs rain datesbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

cool parks in rich neighborhoodsbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

everything they learned, unlearnedmeasured the wrong thinghigh

the labs transfer students never enterbuilt without the people who'd live with itmedium

connected classrooms, disconnected schoolsbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

power for shacks, designed for housesbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

the lake burst, the warning didn't arrivebuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

one illness undoes the ladderbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

invisible to the systembuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

also in designed for a world that doesn’t exist here, designed for the wrong person

the count that never leaves the districtbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

donated, broken, unrepairablebuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

oxygen machines that drown in humiditytested in the wrong worldhigh

also in designed for a world that doesn’t exist here

a thousand studies, nine worth trustingbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

sixty miles to the nearest erbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

antivenom waits at hospitals victims can't reachthe economics don't workhigh

also in designed for the wrong person

one in ten pills is a liebuilt without the people who'd live with itmedium

also in it worked in the lab, designed for a world that doesn’t exist here

the test demands what the sickest can't producetested in the wrong worldhigh

also in it worked in the lab

mental health apps with no safety proofbuilt without the people who'd live with itmedium

twenty-five million trees burned for dinnerbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

also in designed for the wrong person

digitized aid that disabled refugees can't reachit fell between the crackshigh

also in designed for the wrong person

therapy designed for a clinic, needed in a campbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

also in designed for the wrong person

the centrifuge waits six monthsbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

the kilns changed, the workers didn'tbuilt without the people who'd live with itmedium

heat kills farmworkers nobody monitorsbuilt without the people who'd live with itmedium

also in designed for a world that doesn’t exist here

chargers everywhere except where they're neededbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

temperate fixes for tropical acid minestested in the wrong worldhigh

the filter works, a third use itbuilt without the people who'd live with ithigh

Confidence: high = Tier-1 source — a primary expert source, fully fact-checked · medium = Tier-2/3 source — analyst, conference, or community source, fact-checked · needs sourcing = flagged for deeper sourcing — help us source it · the dot's size is its tier; a dashed dot needs sourcing

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the context you didn’t design forthe context you didn’t design for

Ways this shape shows up

The 31 problems in this family

the context you didn’t design forthe context you didn’t design for

Ways this shape shows up

The 31 problems in this family

the context you didn’t design for

the context you didn’t design for