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Practical Guide to Using the CORE Framework

The CORE Framework improves design quality through four simple and practical perspectives. This guide offers question patterns and concrete examples for each perspective.

🌟 Examples of Questions and Answers by Perspective

C: Context – Purpose and Environment 🎯

Question Poor Answer Good Answer
Who will use this system? "Internal users" "20 sales reps (using it on the go) and 5 accounting staff (mostly at the end of each month)"
What do they want to achieve? "Improve efficiency" "Sales needs to quickly check stock and reply on delivery dates during client visits. Accounting wants to reduce invoice generation time from 2 days to 0.5 days."
What is the most important goal? "Usability" "To ensure mobile response time under 2 seconds to boost sales productivity on-site."

Tips for Context:

  • Clearly identify roles, numbers, and usage scenarios.
  • Express goals in concrete terms (quantifiable change).
  • Prioritize needs to support trade-off decisions.

O: Object – Responsibilities and Structure 🧩

Question Poor Answer Good Answer
What are the main components? "Frontend and backend" "1) UI, 2) Sales Logic, 3) Inventory Logic, 4) Customer DB, 5) External APIs"
What are the responsibilities of each part? "Processes data" "Inventory handles: 1) checking stock, 2) allocation, 3) reorder point logic. It interacts with Sales via stock API."
What gets impacted if one part is changed? "Minimal impact" "Changing customer schema affects the UI search screen and sales logic for credit checks."

Tips for Object:

  • Use functional decomposition with meaningful labels.
  • Clarify what each part does and doesn’t do.
  • Predict ripple effects from changes.

R: Reaction – Behavior and Changes 🔁

Question Poor Answer Good Answer
What states does the system have? "Normal or abnormal" "'Pending', 'Ready to Ship', 'Shipped', 'Cancelled' with different editable fields per state"
What changes happen when key operations occur? "Updates data" "Order confirmation changes status, allocates inventory, updates history, and may trigger shipment integration."
How do you verify correctness? "Do tests" "1) Unit tests for state transitions 2) Integration tests for stock impact 3) E2E tests for UI flow 4) Log tracing with TX IDs"

Tips for Reaction:

  • List all system states and transitions.
  • Track change propagation across operations.
  • Clarify multi-level testing strategy.

E: Evolution – Growth and Understanding 🔄

Question Poor Answer Good Answer
What future features are anticipated? "We’ll see when needed" "Planned in 6 months: 1) multi-warehouse support, 2) foreign currency, 3) mobile app. Inventory and currency logic are designed accordingly."
Can you explain the design in 5 minutes? "Read the docs" "1-page diagram with system map, 5 UI mockups, state chart, and data model supports quick walkthrough."
What happens when something breaks? "Check the logs" "All actions are traceable with IDs. On-call staff have predefined error flows for rapid response."

Tips for Evolution:

  • Anticipate future change with design flexibility.
  • Use visual aids to support knowledge transfer.
  • Embed operability from the start.

💡 When and How to Use the CORE Checklist

1. Use by Phase

Phase Focus Perspectives
Planning / Requirements Mainly C
Basic Design Emphasis on C and O
Detailed Design Balance across O, R, E
Review Phase Cover all four

2. Time Allocation for a 60-min Review

  • C: 10 mins
  • O: 20 mins
  • R: 20 mins
  • E: 10 mins

3. Team Usage Tips

  • Write each question on a board or shared doc.
  • If the answer lacks clarity, ask “What exactly do you mean?”
  • At the end of each section, ask “Anything else?”
  • Turn concerns into action items immediately.

4. Tips for Solo Use

  • Actually write down answers (don’t just think them).
  • Imagine explaining to a teammate.
  • Note what feels vague or risky.
  • Focus on identifying the next step, not on perfection.

📊 Case Study: Internal Order Management System

Project: Renewal of internal order system

C: Context

  • Users: 20 sales (mobile use), 5 accounting (in-office)
  • Goal: Cut order time by 50%, improve mobile productivity
  • Constraints: Launch in 6 months, reuse DB schema, 5,000 orders/month

O: Object

  • Key components:
    1. UI (web/mobile)
    2. Order core logic (CRUD, status)
    3. Inventory integration
    4. Customer integration (credit check)
    5. Report output (PDF, email)

R: Reaction

  • States: Estimate → Confirmed → Allocated → Shipped → Completed
  • Processes: Order confirmation triggers allocation, credit check, approval flow
  • Tests: Unit (transitions), E2E (flows), logging via TX ID

E: Evolution

  • Future: Global expansion, mobile apps, AI order prediction
  • Operations: Full audit logging, error tracing ID
  • Docs: Overview, UI map, data model

© 2025 Masahiro Nakatsugawa – CORE Framework | Licensed under CC BY 4.0