Use a Framework
How assistants use frameworks, syncing for auto-discovery, and linking to a Nudge.
You've created and saved a framework. Now you decide how it reaches learners.
This guide uses the Build vs. Buy Software Decision framework from Getting Started with Frameworks.
Before you start
- Framework created and saved → Getting Started with Frameworks
- For Step 2: a Thinking Path with at least one step built → Getting Started with Thinking Paths
How assistants use your framework
Assistants in your course can pick up a framework in two ways:
| Auto-discovery | Explicit connection via a Nudge | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The assistant matches a learner's question to the framework's Purpose and applies it | You wire the framework into a Thinking Path step and create a Nudge assistant to deliver it |
| Setup needed | None beyond syncing | Requires a Thinking Path with steps |
| When it applies | Any time a learner asks a relevant question, in any assistant in the course | Guaranteed at that step, and still auto-discoverable elsewhere |
| Best for | General Q&A assistants, open-ended exploration | Structured assignments where the framework must appear at a specific moment |
Step 1: Sync for auto-discovery
Saving a framework does not make it visible to assistants. You need to sync.
Navigate to your course → Frameworks tab → click Sync → wait for the confirmation.
Sync tells SLAN to index the framework so assistants can find it. Without syncing, the framework exists in your course but no assistant can see it.
In our example: after syncing, a learner who asks "should we build our own CRM or buy Salesforce?" triggers the Build vs. Buy framework automatically.
Sync every time you create or update a framework.
Step 2: Create or link a Nudge (optional)
If you want to guarantee the framework fires at a specific moment in a guided workflow, connect it to a Thinking Path step and wrap it in a Nudge.
Connect to a Thinking Path step:
- Navigate to your course → Thinking Paths tab → open your Thinking Path
- Open the step where the framework should apply
- Under Frameworks, search for and select Build vs. Buy Software Decision
- Save the step
In our example: we add Build vs. Buy to the step called "Evaluate the technology decision". When a learner reaches that step, the assistant applies the framework regardless of what the learner says.
Create the Nudge:
- Navigate to your course → Assistants tab → Create Assistant
- Choose Thinking Path as the assistant type
- Select the Thinking Path that includes the Build vs. Buy step
- Name it, for example: Build vs. Buy Advisor
- Configure and publish
Learners open the Nudge and the assistant walks them through each question (internal capability, estimated cost, strategic fit) and produces a documented recommendation.
See Getting Started with Thinking Paths for building paths and Getting Started with Assistants for assistant configuration.
Next steps
To change any field or delete the framework, see Update a Framework.