scaffolding

noun3

1. •
   A temporary modular system of tubes, bamboo or wood forming a framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures.

   • […] transparent scaffoldings partially draped with often hallucinatory nets of lines, gouges, hatching and cross-hatching that somehow also depict varying degrees of flesh, features and expression. — 2007
2. •
   Source code etc. that is incomplete and serves as a basis for further development.
3. •
   (figurative) Any framework or support.

   • We refer to the process by which socialization agents support emotional activity within the child as emotional scaffolding. — 2013