This article presents a systematic framework to identify and address barriers that may impede the process of adapting to climate change. The framework is designed to be applicable across a wide range of adaptation cases and is guided by four principles: socially focused but ecologically constrained, actor-centric but context-aware, process-focused but action/outcome-oriented, and iterative and messy but linear for convenience. The framework consists of three key components: an idealized depiction of a rational approach to adaptation decision-making, interconnected structural elements including actors, governance, and the system of concern, and a simple matrix to locate points of intervention to overcome barriers. The authors systematically identify potential barriers at each stage of the adaptation process, from understanding the problem to planning and managing implementation. They also discuss common barriers encountered in each stage and provide diagnostic questions to help identify how actors, context, and the system of concern contribute to these barriers. The framework aims to provide a comprehensive starting point for answering critical questions about supporting climate change adaptation at all levels of decision-making.This article presents a systematic framework to identify and address barriers that may impede the process of adapting to climate change. The framework is designed to be applicable across a wide range of adaptation cases and is guided by four principles: socially focused but ecologically constrained, actor-centric but context-aware, process-focused but action/outcome-oriented, and iterative and messy but linear for convenience. The framework consists of three key components: an idealized depiction of a rational approach to adaptation decision-making, interconnected structural elements including actors, governance, and the system of concern, and a simple matrix to locate points of intervention to overcome barriers. The authors systematically identify potential barriers at each stage of the adaptation process, from understanding the problem to planning and managing implementation. They also discuss common barriers encountered in each stage and provide diagnostic questions to help identify how actors, context, and the system of concern contribute to these barriers. The framework aims to provide a comprehensive starting point for answering critical questions about supporting climate change adaptation at all levels of decision-making.