Situations

A situation page follows a changing configuration of people, conditions, dependencies, and possibilities. It connects immediate events with relevant history and wider systems.

First example

A household under pressure: An illustrative map of overlapping care, household work, income, and coordination needs.

What a situation map holds

• What matters now, and what may change next.
• What happens if nothing changes, by when, and with what evidence or uncertainty.
• Which needs or activities collide, and who bears the cost of each proposed response.
• Which commitments have been accepted, attempted, and checked for their effects.
• People, roles, capabilities, dependencies, and decision power.
• Relevant history and different accounts of it.
• Needs, resources, constraints, opportunities, and compatibility.
• Attempts, effects, possible paths, and commitments.
• Wider conditions that affect what is feasible.

Use a short overview with links to deeper material. Separate agreed facts, attributed reports, interpretations, and unanswered questions. Mark the date of each consequential update.

A drafted message, named referral, or proposed plan does not close an unmet need. Keep the need’s actual status visible.

Choose the working audience before assembling identifiable details. A situation can be explored through separate conversations or an invited workshop, with selected material considered for wider sharing. A public example can be constructed without opening the underlying working record. Methods & Tools sets out a short audience agreement.

Keep the difference between a proposed visibility label and actual access control clear. The prototype currently contains illustrative material; a restricted workspace for real situation records still needs to be configured and checked.