Tradeoff

Produce a tradeoff analysis of: $ARGUMENTS

If $ARGUMENTS doesn't clearly contain two or more options, ask the user to specify them.

Process

1. State each option neutrally in one sentence. Don't pre-load with opinions.

2. Pick 4–6 axes of comparison relevant to the decision. Common ones:

   • Implementation effort
   • Ongoing maintenance cost
   • Reversibility
   • Performance / scalability
   • Operational complexity
   • Team familiarity
   • Security / compliance exposure
   • Time to ship
   • Dependency / lock-in risk Pick the axes that actually matter here — skip the irrelevant ones.

3. Score each option on each axis. Use concrete wording ("2 weeks", "none", "high — new infra to operate") over symbols (check marks and crosses) — concrete is more useful than ceremonial.

4. Write a recommendation paragraph. Which option, under what conditions, and what would change your mind.

Output

## Options
- **A:** <one-line description>
- **B:** <one-line description>

## Tradeoff matrix

| Axis | Option A | Option B |
|---|---|---|
| Implementation effort | ... | ... |
| Maintenance cost | ... | ... |
| Reversibility | ... | ... |
| ... | ... | ... |

## Recommendation
<Which option, 2–3 sentences on why, and what would change your mind. Be honest if it's a coin-flip.>

## What we're implicitly choosing
<Name the tradeoff the recommendation accepts. Every choice costs something — make it explicit.>

Rules

• If one option is clearly better on every axis, say so. Don't fabricate balance.
• If you lack information on an axis, write "unknown — would need to check X" instead of guessing.
• Keep the matrix readable — long cells ruin it. One short phrase per cell.