Canonical Diagrams

Visual reference materials for Technology Sense Engineering

These diagrams are intended to be reused, cited, and taught. They are conceptual, not architectural. All diagrams are available for reuse with attribution.

Citation: Technology Sense Engineering — technologysense.org. Reuse permitted with attribution.

Diagram 1: The Sense Gap

The primary visual artifact of Technology Sense Engineering. Illustrates the divergence between technological capability and institutional understanding over time.

The Sense Gap diagram showing divergence between Technology Capability and Institutional Sense over time

Diagram 2: From Visibility to Sense

Shows the progression from raw signals to true sense. Most organizations stop at visibility, mistaking observation for understanding.

Visibility provides data; sense provides understanding.

Diagram 3: The Sense Primitives

The five core primitives that must exist for sense to be present: intent, bounds, context, provenance, and evidence. If any primitive is missing, sense collapses.

The five sense primitives as a coherent system.

Diagram 4: The Governance Shift

Comparison of retrospective governance (the old model) versus operational sense (the new model). The shift is from explaining after outcomes to understanding at the time of action.

From retrospective governance to operational sense.

Diagram 5: Applied Sense Disciplines Map

Shows how the seven applied disciplines (Operational Sense Engineering, Financial Sense Engineering, Risk Sense Engineering, Compliance Sense Engineering, Data Sense Engineering, Safety Sense Engineering, Ethics Sense Engineering) connect Technology Sense Engineering to institutional outcomes.

Applied disciplines and their institutional outcomes.

Diagram 6: Technology Sense Maturity Model

Visual representation of the five maturity levels from Opaque to Sense-Complete. Progression is not automatic, and maturity varies by discipline and system.

The five levels of sense maturity.

Diagram 7: The Sense Loop

The operational cycle of continuous sense: declaring intent, enforcing bounds, observing behavior, interpreting in context, generating evidence, and detecting drift.

The continuous operational sense loop.

Usage and Attribution

These diagrams may be reused in presentations, publications, and educational materials with attribution to Technology Sense Engineering (technologysense.org).

They are designed to be clear, precise, and pedagogically useful—not decorative.

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