alexe-ev Apply Decision Framework
Purpose
Help teams apply the right decision framework to clarify who decides, who inputs, who is informed — and produce a clear, documented decision with transparent rationale.
Skill type
Conceptual skill
Use this skill when
- A decision is stalled because it's unclear who has the authority to make it
- A decision is being made without the right people in the room
- A contested decision needs a structured process to resolve it
- A team wants to establish clear decision rights for recurring decision types
Do not use this skill when
- The decision is straightforward and doesn't need a framework
- The goal is stakeholder management (use map-stakeholder-influence)
Required inputs
- Decision to be made
- Relevant stakeholders
Optional inputs
- Decision timeline
- Prior attempts to make this decision
- Options being considered
- Constraints
Upstream context
Works best when:
- Stakeholder map exists
- Decision scope is defined
Downstream handoff
Output can feed:
- communicate-decisions-tradeoffs (decision made → communication plan)
- map-stakeholder-influence (decision process → stakeholder engagement)
Instructions
- Define the decision clearly: what exactly is being decided?
- Select the appropriate framework:
- DACI (Driver / Approver / Contributors / Informed): good for complex cross-functional decisions
- SPADE (Setting / People / Alternatives / Decide / Explain): good for high-stakes strategic decisions
- RAPID (Recommend / Agree / Perform / Input / Decide): good for operational decisions with clear owners
- Map stakeholders to roles in the chosen framework.
- Define the options being considered.
- Document the decision, rationale, and trade-offs explicitly.
- Define who is informed and how.
Output
Provide:
- Decision statement
- Framework selected with rationale
- Role assignments (Driver/Approver/etc.)
- Options considered
- Decision made and rationale
- Trade-offs acknowledged
- Communication plan (who is informed, how)
- Review trigger (when to revisit the decision)
Risks / caveats
- Decision frameworks are only useful if the Approver or Decider role is real — not honorary
- Decisions with too many approvers produce committee outcomes
- Document the decision before communicating it — oral decisions get reinterpreted