Getting Started with Frameworks

Create your first framework in five minutes, from wizard to sync.

Create and sync your first framework. By the end you'll have a working framework that any assistant in your course can pick up and use.

We'll use a Build vs. Buy Software Decision as our running example.

What is a Framework?

A Framework is the smallest unit of decision logic in SLAN: a reusable module with defined inputs, reasoning steps, and completion criteria. You encode how to think through something, and any assistant in your course applies it when a learner's question matches.

Examples: deciding whether to build or buy software, evaluating a business idea across desirability/viability/feasibility, diagnosing why a financial metric declined, scoring vendors across weighted criteria.

If you need an assistant that answers questions without structured analysis, skip frameworks. Prompt and Structured assistants both work without them.

Before you start

Frameworks live inside a Course. If you don't have one yet, see Creating a Course.

Navigate to your course → Frameworks tab → Add Framework. The wizard has seven sections.

1. Basics

Fill in four fields:

  • Name: clear and specific, e.g. Build vs. Buy Software Decision. Generic names like "Decision Framework" make routing unreliable.
  • Purpose: one sentence completing "Use this framework when you need to…". Assistants read this to decide which framework to apply, so be precise. Example: Decide whether to build a custom software solution internally or purchase an existing product, based on strategic fit, cost, and internal capability.
  • Quantitative Nature: pick Quantitative, Qualitative, or Mixed depending on whether the framework works with numbers, judgment, or both. For Build vs. Buy: Mixed.
  • Requirements Type: how central this is to your course. Core (taught and assessed), Required (used often), or Optional (supplemental). For Build vs. Buy: Core.

Full breakdown of each field: Frameworks Deep Dive → Basics.

Click Next.

2. Relationships

This is where you link parent, child, or alternative frameworks and reference files from your course's source material. If you uploaded a textbook chapter or case study that covers the decision logic, attach it here to give the framework grounding. Skip this for your first framework. You can come back once you have more than one or once you've uploaded sources. Click Next.

Full breakdown: Frameworks Deep Dive → Relationships.

3. Inputs & Outputs

Inputs are the information the framework needs from the learner. Click Add Input and fill in a name, type (Numeric / Boolean / Categorical / Text), ask strategy (Required / Optional / Infer), and description. For Build vs. Buy, add two inputs:

  • Internal Build Capability: Boolean, Required. Does the team have the skills and capacity to build this internally?
  • Estimated Build Cost: Numeric, Required. Total projected cost to build, including development and first-year maintenance.

Outputs are what the framework produces. Add one output:

  • Software Decision: A recommendation (Build or Buy) with a one-paragraph justification covering capability, cost, and strategic fit.

Details on input types, ask strategies, and output descriptions: Frameworks Deep Dive → Inputs & Outputs.

Click Next.

4. Logic Structure

Choose a structure type. For your first framework, pick Linear Steps: a fixed sequence where each step is completed in order.

Click Load Example to see a pre-filled set of steps, then adapt them. Or start from scratch with Add Step.

For Build vs. Buy, create six steps: Define the problem → Assess internal capability → Estimate the build cost → Research available products → Compare build vs. buy → Make a recommendation.

SLAN supports five other structure types (Decision Tree, Causal Chain, Weighted Scoring, Evaluation Matrix, Diagnostic Checklist). All six with examples: Frameworks Deep Dive → Logic Structure.

Click Next.

5. Advanced

All fields here are optional, but three are worth adding now:

  • When to Use: the conditions when this framework is the right choice. Improves routing accuracy.
  • Invalid When: when the framework should NOT be used. Prevents misapplication.
  • Introductory Hook: a single sentence the assistant says to engage the learner before starting, e.g. "Before we work through this decision, what's your instinct, and what's making you uncertain?"

Full list of advanced fields: Frameworks Deep Dive → Advanced.

Click Next.

6. Summary & Save

Review the summary. Check that the name, purpose, inputs, outputs, and step count look right. Click Save.

7. Sync

Saving is not enough. Your assistants can't see the framework until you sync.

Go back to the Frameworks tab → click Sync → wait for the confirmation. Once synced, if a learner asks "should we build our own CRM or buy Salesforce?", the assistant recognises the match and applies Build vs. Buy automatically.

Sync every time you create or update a framework.

Next steps

Next

Use a Framework