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 that is hard to see from inside any one field. Interventions designed for one setting fail in another because they assume infrastructure, behaviors, and relationships that don't exist there. Nine of these problems were described by the institutions living with them. BRAC's play-based learning was undone by government schools. CSIR South Africa found solar models that assume fixed roofs on legally owned structures. ICIMOD's warning systems assumed cellular coverage. IRRI's seed systems assumed formal supply chains. Those accounts now make up about one in three members, up from one in twenty, and they changed what the family says: designs carry assumptions about the setting they will be used in.

The intervention was designed for a world with reliable electricity, trained technicians, working supply chains, and cooperative institutions. It was then used in a world that has none of these.

Ways this family shows up

Health systems. Health interventions assume clinics, staff, and supply chains that the setting doesn't have
Warning systems. Warning systems assume cellular or radio coverage that the area doesn't have
Education. Education standards assume resources, lab access, and continuity of teaching that under-resourced institutions lack
Humanitarian response. Interventions assume a cultural setting, accessibility, and continuity of institutions that displaced people lack
Farm advice and supply. Agricultural programs assume machinery, market connections, formal seed systems, and surveillance that smallholders lack
Donated research equipment. Equipment donations assume power, spare parts, and trained operators that aren't there
Technology moved between settings. Treatment or technology designed for one geology or infrastructure fails where conditions differ

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

too far from the nearest hospitalbuilt 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

sixty-five thousand acres 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 = from a primary expert source (Tier 1) · medium = from an analyst, conference, or community source (Tier 2 or 3) · needs sourcing = flagged until we find a better source · 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 family shows up

The 31 problems in this family

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

Ways this family shows up

The 31 problems in this family

the context you didn’t design for

the context you didn’t design for