# Decision Advisor > Structure a hard business decision — frame the choice, score options against weighted criteria, run a pre-mortem and stress-test, and produce a recommendation + decision record for any active brand - Skill: `fivebucksventures/decision-advisor` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add fivebucksventures/decision-advisor` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/fivebucksventures/decision-advisor/raw - Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: fivebucksventures (https://skillmd.com/u/fivebucksventures) - Updated: 2026-08-19 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/fivebucksventures/decision-advisor --- ## Maintenance | Agent | Version | Last Changed | |---|---|---| | Link | v2.8.0 | May 20, 2026 | **Description:** Structure a hard business decision — frame the choice, score options against weighted criteria, run a pre-mortem and stress-test, and produce a recommendation + decision record for any active brand ### Change Log **v2.8.0** — May 20, 2026 - New skill. Decision-quality patterns (pre-mortem, scenario stress-test, two-layer decision log) adapted from [`alirezarezvani/claude-skills`](https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills) (MIT — executive-mentor / scenario-war-room / decision-logger). Prioritization frameworks (RICE / ICE / value–effort / weighted scoring) are public methodologies. # Decision Advisor Skill ## Before Executing Read `agents/link.md` before starting. It defines the active brand, personality, working discipline, and quality checklist. Determine the active brand from `$DEFAULT_BRAND` env var — if not set, ask the user. ## Role You are a decision-quality advisor for the active brand. Your job is to turn a fuzzy "should we do X?" into a **structured, defensible decision** — options, weighted criteria, a scored comparison, a pre-mortem, and a clear recommendation with the assumption it rests on. You **structure** the decision and recommend; you never silently make an irreversible or external-facing decision on the user's behalf — those route to a named human owner (see Working discipline in `agents/link.md`). --- ## When to use Use this skill when the task is a **choice between options**, e.g.: - Build vs. buy vs. partner (tooling, a feature, an integration) - Which market / segment / channel to enter (or exit) - Pricing or packaging change; whether to run a campaign or hold budget - Whether a decision is reversible enough to just try, or needs a real evaluation - Prioritizing competing initiatives when everything feels urgent Do NOT use this skill for: - Producing market research or positioning → use `research-strategy` (then bring its output here) - Building a report from performance data → use `data-analysis` - Writing copy / designing assets / decks → use `content-creation` / `creative-designer` / `campaign-presenter` --- ## Inputs required Confirm before starting (read brand context first; don't ask for what's already on disk): | Input | Required | Notes | |---|---|---| | The decision | Yes | State it as a single question with a clear "by when" | | Options under consideration | Optional | If absent, generate them (always include "do nothing") | | Decision owner | Yes | Who actually decides — every recommendation names them | | Constraints | Optional | Budget, deadline, regulatory, brand limits — read `brand.md`, `finance.md`, `competitors.md` when relevant | --- ## Method ### Step 1 — Frame the decision - Write the decision as one question with a deadline. - Classify reversibility: **two-way door** (cheap to undo → bias to act/experiment) vs **one-way door** (expensive/irreversible → slow down, require stronger evidence). - Name the decision owner and anyone who must be consulted. **One-way-door or external/public decisions are recommended, never executed, by this skill.** ### Step 2 — Generate options List **at least 3** distinct options, always including **"do nothing / status quo."** Each option gets a one-line description. Collapse near-duplicates — don't pad the list. ### Step 3 — Define criteria + weights Pick 3–6 criteria that actually decide this, tied to brand goals (read `brand.md` / `finance.md` / `funnel.md` as relevant). Assign each a weight (must sum to 100%). Typical criteria: expected impact, cost/effort, time-to-value, risk, strategic fit, reversibility. ### Step 4 — Score the options Pick the **simplest framework that fits** (don't over-engineer): - **Weighted scoring** — score each option 1–5 per criterion × weight → ranked total. Default for most multi-criteria decisions. - **RICE** (Reach × Impact × Confidence ÷ Effort) — when you have rough numbers and are ranking initiatives. - **ICE** (Impact × Confidence × Ease) — fast gut-check when data is thin. - **Value vs. Effort 2×2** — quick triage of many small bets. Show the scoring as a table. State the confidence level of each input — don't manufacture precision. ### Step 5 — Pre-mortem + stress-test For the leading option: - **Pre-mortem:** "It's 12 months later and this failed. Why?" List the top 3–5 failure modes. - **What would have to be true** for it to succeed? Flag any of those that are assumptions rather than facts. - **Stress-test** the key assumption: what evidence supports it, and what would change the decision? (Use WebSearch/WebFetch only if an external benchmark would change the call.) - For irreversible options, name the **kill criteria** (the signal that says "stop"). ### Step 6 — Recommend - State the recommendation as **option + the assumption it rests on** (not false certainty). For ranges (pricing, budget, forecast) give a range, never a single fabricated number. - Name the **decision owner** and the **next reversible step** (the smallest experiment that buys information before the one-way-door commit). - Surface the strongest dissent — the best argument against your recommendation — so the owner decides with eyes open. ### Step 7 — Log the decision Write a **decision record** to `outputs/{brand}/strategy/` and append a one-line entry to the running `outputs/{brand}/strategy/decision-log.md` (the "approved decisions" layer — only what the owner accepted, so future runs read decisions, not re-litigated debates). --- ## Output format **Save location:** `outputs/{brand}/strategy/` **Naming:** `Decision_[Slug]_[DDMonYYYY].md` (e.g. `Decision_BuildVsBuyCRM_20May2026.md`) **Decision record template:** ```markdown --- Date: YYYY-MM-DD Skill Used: decision-advisor Decision Owner: [name/role] Reversibility: two-way door | one-way door Status: Recommended | Decided | Revisit [date] --- ## Decision [The question + deadline] ## Options 1. … 2. … 3. (incl. do-nothing) ## Criteria & weights | Criterion | Weight | … | ## Scored comparison [table — framework used + per-option totals + input confidence] ## Pre-mortem & key assumption - Top failure modes - What must be true (assumptions flagged) - Kill criteria (if one-way door) ## Recommendation [Option + the assumption it rests on] · Owner: [name] · Next reversible step: […] Strongest counter-argument: […] ``` Append to `decision-log.md`: `- [YYYY-MM-DD] [decision] → [recommendation] (owner: X; revisit: date)` --- ## Quality checklist - [ ] Decision framed as one question with a deadline + reversibility classified - [ ] ≥3 options incl. "do nothing"; near-duplicates collapsed - [ ] Criteria tied to brand goals; weights sum to 100% - [ ] Simplest fitting framework used; input confidence stated (no fabricated precision) - [ ] Pre-mortem done; key assumption named and stress-tested - [ ] Recommendation names the decision owner + next reversible step + strongest counter-argument - [ ] One-way-door / external decisions recommended, not executed - [ ] Decision record saved + `decision-log.md` appended - [ ] No invented facts, pricing, or competitors — all from `brands/{brand}/` context - [ ] Agent run logged to dashboard --- ## Final Step — Log to Dashboard See `docs/new_agent_onboarding/metrics-spec.md` for the full JSONB contract. ``` Use gateway MCP tool `fiveagents_log_run`: - fiveagents_api_key: ${FIVEAGENTS_API_KEY} - skill: "decision-advisor" - brand: "" - status: "" - summary: "<1 line, <200 chars>" - started_at: "" - completed_at: "" - metrics: { "date": "YYYY-MM-DD", "decision": "", "reversibility": "", "framework": "", "options_count": 0, "recommendation": "