Kinetic Systems

Kinetic Systems

Kinetic Systems Analysis applies principles of human movement, system design, and constraint-based modeling to evaluate how energy, behavior, and structure interact in real-world systems—from physical environments to organizational and social systems.

Kelly Driftmier
Complex Systems Theorist | Applied Kinesiologist
Originator of the SACCADE Framework, Developmental Constraint Theory (DCT), and Global Coupling Field (GCF)

The Framework

The SACCADE Framework is a systems model for understanding how things:

  • form
  • stabilize
  • and interact

It applies across domains, including:

  • physical systems
  • biological systems
  • human environments

At its core, it describes how something becomes real, holds together, and connects to everything around it.

The System

This work is structured as a connected system:

  • SACCADE Framework → ordering (how systems unfold)
  • Developmental Constraint Theory (DCT) → constraint (what makes systems viable)
  • Global Coupling Field (GCF) → mechanism (how systems connect and persist)
  • Kinetic Systems Analysis → application (how systems are evaluated in reality)

Each layer builds on the one before it.

Together, they describe the full structure of system behavior.

How to Navigate

You can enter at any point:

  • Start with SACCADE Framework for the overall structure
  • Move to DCT for how systems stabilize
  • Read GCF for how systems interact
  • Go to Kinetic Systems Analysis to see how this applies in real-world systems

Application

This framework is used to evaluate real systems, including:

  • spaces and environments
  • events and human-centered design
  • organizational systems
  • cross-domain structures

The same underlying structure applies across all of them.

Use

If you are working with a system, project, or environment:

  • define what it is intended to do
  • identify where it is not functioning
  • evaluate how movement, constraint, and connection are operating

This framework provides a way to make that structure visible.

Work With This System

For applied evaluation:

  • submit a project, system, or concept
  • describe intended function and current challenges

A structured evaluation can be provided based on:

  • system behavior
  • constraint conditions
  • interaction and coupling

Publications

The full theoretical work is available in published manuscripts:

  • SACCADE Framework
  • Developmental Constraint Theory (DCT)
  • Global Coupling Field (GCF)

Contact

For project inquiries:

email: kelly@theplanninglab.co

This is a systems framework designed to make structure visible. So systems can be understood—and made to work.