VUCA, BANI, RUPT, TUNA… If it feels like there’s a new acronym for uncertainty every five minutes, you’re not wrong.
But each of these models is trying to describe something important about the world we’re working in — and as a project manager or business professional, it’s worth understanding the differences.
In this video, I’ll break each one down in plain English — what VUCA really means, how BANI builds on it, and where TUNA and RUPT fit into the picture. Then we’ll pull it all together so you can see how these models relate — and more importantly, how they help you make sense of complexity, uncertainty, and change.
If you want a clearer way to think about a messy world… this will help.
This video is safe for viewing in the workplace.
This is learning, so, sit back and enjoy
VUCA
Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. These are the characteristics of the modern world. That’s why the term has really caught on, in communities like business, the military, and Government.
It was the new normal, even before things got super-crazy in the 2020s!
But more recently, new coinages have emerged to sum up the nature of our world. I am not here to argue which is better than the others, but to note what they mean, so you can feel better able to decode the jargon of out=r VUCA, BANI, RUPT, and TUNA world.
BANI
The term BANI is perhaps the next best-known. It was coined by Jamias Caisco, from The Institute for the Future, in 2020.
BANI Stands for: Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, and Incomprehensible.
Interestingly for Project professionals, the new PRINCE2 Agile certification and manual use the BANI concept as a framework against which to sharpen agile capabilities
TUNA
The University of Oxford coined the acronym TUNA (catchy) in 2016, to support an executive education program.
TUNA stands for: Turbulent, Uncertain, Novel, and Ambiguous.
RUPT
The Center for Creative Leadership uses its own acronym as a basis for a proprietary leadership framework. They claim a trademark for RUPT, so it’s best to use it with care.
RUPT stands for: Rapid, Unpredictable, Paradoxical, and Tangled.
CUBAN PURITAN TV
So, what have we got in total:
- Complex
- Uncertain
- Brittle
- Ambiguous
- Non-linear
- Paradoxical
- Unpredictable
- Rapid
- Incomprehensible
- Turbulent
- Anxious
- Novel
- Tangled
- Volatile
Or, in one catchy phrase: CUBAN PURITAN TV
What Kit does a Project Manager Need?
I asked Project Managers in a couple of forums what material things you need to have, to do your job as a Project Manager. They responded magnificently. I compiled their answers into a Kit list. I added my own.
Check out the Kit a Project Manager needs
Note that the links are affiliated.
Learn Still More
For more great Project Management videos, please subscribe to the OnlinePMCourses YouTube channel.
If you want basic Management Courses – free training hosted on YouTube, with 2 new management lessons a week, check out our sister channel, Management Courses.
For more of our Project Management videos in themed collections, join our Free Academy of Project Management.
For more of our videos in themed collections, join our Free Academy of Project Management.
