# Decision Package > Produce the Decision Package — the paid keystone deliverable of a semantic/data consulting engagement's P1 Decision Phase. Use to write the recommendation, the in/out scope, the sequenced (pilot → scale) roadmap, the buy/build/defer decisions, and the ready-to-contract execution brief that hands off to the build/architecture tier. The unit of value is decision-readiness; the artefact sits ABOVE architecture (it justifies and scopes the build before a repo exists). Triggers — "produce a decision package", "write the recommendation / scope / roadmap / buy-build-defer", "decision-readiness deliverable", "execution brief for the build", "scope this engagement", "Semantic Readiness & Direction / Decision Foundation deliverable". This skill PRODUCES the artefact; it does NOT coach the engagement design or hold the free→paid line (that is semantic-consulting-coach — "produce" vs "coach"). Not for free P0 orientation, not for delivery artefacts (an ontology, a mapping), not for code architecture. - Skill: `meaningfy-ws/decision-package` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add meaningfy-ws/decision-package` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/meaningfy-ws/decision-package/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Product & Planning - License: Apache 2.0 - Author: meaningfy-ws (https://skillmd.com/u/meaningfy-ws) - Updated: 2026-09-10 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/meaningfy-ws/decision-package --- # Decision Package > **Provisional pending the first-engagement gate.** The consulting depth here refines after the first real > paid P1 engagement; treat this wiring as the floor, not the finished standard. ## Overview The **Decision Package** is the paid keystone deliverable of Discovery & Onboarding's **Deep-tier Decision Phase**. Its unit of value is **decision-readiness**: the state in which the client knows *what to do next, why, what success looks like, and what comes later* — the moment uncertainty becomes safe to commit. This skill **PRODUCES** that artefact. It sits deliberately **above architecture**: it justifies and scopes the build *before a repo exists*. Architecture, the conceptual model, and the EPICs all descend from it — the Decision Package is the consulting-tier **root of the golden thread**. **Provenance.** The coach (`semantic-consulting-coach`) shapes *whether and how* to run the Deep tier and holds the **free → paid boundary**; the design intent of the Decision Phase lives in its [`engagement-model.md`](../semantic-consulting-coach/references/engagement-model.md). This skill picks up *after* that line is crossed and the client has bought the Deep tier: it **builds the deliverable**. Keep the boundary crisp — **produce** here, **coach** there. ## The deliverable: five parts (R1) The Decision Package is an **executive artefact** framed around decision-readiness. Frame and write it with the [`executive-communication`](../executive-communication/SKILL.md) skill (Governing Thought → SCQA → Minto pyramid, answer-first); this skill supplies the *what*, that skill supplies the *how it reads*. Its five required parts: 1. **Recommendation** — the first initiative to commit to, stated answer-first as a Governing Thought, with the reasoning that makes it safe to commit. 2. **Scope** — explicitly **in** and explicitly **out**. The "out" list is load-bearing: it protects the boundary with the build tier (P2) and prevents scope creep. 3. **Sequenced roadmap** — **pilot → scale**: what to do first, then next, in deliberate order. 4. **Buy / build / defer decisions** — for each capability, a named decision with rationale. 5. **Ready-to-contract execution brief** — the hand-off to the build tier / architecture: enough for P2 (or another implementer) to scope and contract cleanly. It earns the right to say, calmly: *"From here, we can execute, or you can take this and execute with someone else."* The full fillable template is in [`references/decision-package-template.md`](references/decision-package-template.md). ## The Deep-tier discovery flow (R3, R5) The package is the output of a structured flow, not a maturity assessment or open-ended discovery. This is **one coherent discovery framework** — the still-relevant items of the internal product-blueprint checklist are **absorbed into it** where they serve decision-readiness, and the pure product-delivery mechanics are dropped (the reconciliation is in [`references/blueprint-absorbed.md`](references/blueprint-absorbed.md)). 1. **Structured discovery** — the problem, the deciding persona, the measurable outcome, the competitive/strategic "why now". *(Absorbs blueprint Q1 problem/persona/outcome, Q2 success metrics, Q3 why-we-win — reframed as decision inputs, not an MVP brief.)* 2. **Landscape / data reading** — the data estate, governance maturity, legacy constraints, existing assets and obligations. 3. **Gap analysis** — current state vs. the strategic ambition: where the gaps are, which ones block the first safe step, which can wait. 4. **Option framing** — the candidate first initiatives, each with its trade-off (the "big decision" framing of blueprint Q4, kept as *options to decide between*, not a pre-made choice). 5. **Sequencing** — order the options into a pilot → scale roadmap; name what is explicitly **not** in the first step (the discipline of blueprint Q6/Q7, recast as roadmap + out-of-scope). 6. **Buy / build / defer** — for each needed capability, decide and justify. 7. **Execution brief** — assemble the ready-to-contract hand-off to the build tier. Detail, including gap-analysis and buy/build/defer guidance, is in [`references/discovery-flow.md`](references/discovery-flow.md). ### First-cut conceptual model (R4) A **first-cut conceptual model** of the domain often surfaces during discovery (a sketch of the key entities and relationships, to ground scope and options). When it does, produce that fragment with the [`conceptual-modelling`](../conceptual-modelling/SKILL.md) skill — but keep it a *sketch in service of the decision*. Do **not** pull modelling depth (LinkML authoring, generation, ontology engineering) into the Decision Package; the real model is built later, in the build tier. ## The free → paid boundary (R6) Only **presale** is free — everything else, including the Deep tier, is paid. See [`docs/ai-sales/engagement-lifecycle.md`](../../docs/ai-sales/engagement-lifecycle.md) for the full commercial model; this skill operates **only inside the paid Deep tier**. Do not blur Decision Package production into free coaching: if the work being asked for is still presale, it has not crossed the boundary, and this skill should not be producing a paid artefact yet — that is the coach's territory (`semantic-consulting-coach`), and the coach protects the line. ## Golden-thread root: where the package lives (R7) The durable Decision Package lands as its **own spine artefact type**, at: ``` openspec/decisions/.md ``` It is **not** forced into `openspec/specs/` — those are RFC-2119 behaviour contracts, and a Decision Package is an **executive narrative**, a different genre. It gets its own home so the genres do not collide. It is the **consulting-tier root of the golden thread** (see [`../../spine/golden-thread.md`](../../spine/golden-thread.md)). The first `specs/` / architecture entries **cite it as their parent**: ``` decision-package (openspec/decisions/.md) → requirement / architecture → conceptual model → EPIC / change → task → test → commit ``` Make this convention explicit when producing the package: mint a human-readable ID, and ensure the downstream architecture/requirement artefacts cite it as parent. ## Naming (R8) The default name is **"Decision Package"** — for both this skill and the client-facing deliverable. An engagement **MAY relabel the *client-facing* artefact** without renaming the skill, e.g. *Semantic Readiness & Direction*, *Decision Foundation*, *Scope Definition*. This is an allowed per-engagement override: the skill name and the five-part structure stay fixed; the cover label flexes to the engagement. ## Boundary & Related Skills **This skill OWNS:** producing the Decision Package (the five R1 parts) and running the **Deep-tier discovery flow** that yields it (structured discovery → landscape reading → gap analysis → option framing → sequencing → buy/build/defer → execution brief), including the absorbed product-blueprint items recast for decision-readiness. **This skill DELEGATES:** - Coaching the engagement design and **holding the free → paid boundary** → [`../semantic-consulting-coach/SKILL.md`](../semantic-consulting-coach/SKILL.md). The coach decides *whether/how* to run the Deep tier; this skill builds its deliverable. - Executive framing and voice (Governing Thought, SCQA, Minto) → [`../executive-communication/SKILL.md`](../executive-communication/SKILL.md). - The **first-cut conceptual model** fragment → [`../conceptual-modelling/SKILL.md`](../conceptual-modelling/SKILL.md) (sketch only; no modelling depth here). - Proposal / Statement of Work for the engagement → `proposal-writing` (EPIC-08, future). - System/solution architecture that descends from the package → [`../architecture/SKILL.md`](../architecture/SKILL.md). **Related:** `semantic-consulting-coach`, `executive-communication`, `conceptual-modelling`, `architecture`, `writing-antipatterns` (Decision genre failure modes). ## Tone & style British English. The Decision Package is an executive artefact: answer-first, concise, every claim load-bearing. Recommendation before proof; scope boundaries and trade-offs explicit; buy/build/defer decisions named, not hedged. Write it in the engagement's executive voice (see `executive-communication`), not consultancy-bland.