Decision memo
The recommendation, alternatives, evidence, unresolved assumptions, and accepted tradeoffs.
Product and Technology Review
Make the decision before you fund the program.
Independent recommendation, evidence, and a 90-day plan in 10 working days.
One consequential decision, made explicit.
The Review starts with the business commitment and identifies the evidence leadership needs before choosing a larger program.
- Should we repair the current platform or begin replacing it?
- Can the platform support the next customer or product commitment safely?
- Which constraints require investment now, and which can wait?
- Is delivery limited by architecture, sequence, ownership, or a combination?
- What evidence should leadership require before approving the next commitment?
The smallest useful body of evidence.
Access is proportionate to the decision. The Review is focused, not an exhaustive audit.
Product and business
- Leadership, product, and engineering interviews
- Roadmap commitments and customer requirements
- Business outcome and success criteria
Platform and delivery
- Architecture and system documentation
- Selected code, configuration, or infrastructure
- Delivery history, incidents, and operational signals
Ownership
- Decision rights and escalation paths
- Team and vendor responsibilities
- Checkpoints for the next commitment
Ten working days from question to plan.
The sequence concentrates effort on the unknowns most likely to change the decision.
-
Days 1-2
Define
Confirm the decision, outcome, constraints, owner, and success criteria. -
Days 3-6
Examine
Review the relevant product, technical, operational, and delivery evidence. -
Days 7-8
Test
Investigate the assumptions most likely to change the recommendation. -
Days 9-10
Decide
Deliver the memo, action plan, readout, and ownership for what follows.
What your team receives.
Each artifact supports the decision now and the work that follows.
Constraint map
The product commitments, platform dependencies, and ownership conditions shaping the decision.
90-day action plan
A sequenced plan with owners, checkpoints, and evidence required for the next commitment.
Leadership readout
A working session to challenge the recommendation, resolve questions, and align the team.
Illustrative sample
A decision memo should make the recommendation testable.
This example shows the format of a recommendation. It is not a client case study.
- Decision to make
- Should the team begin a full platform rewrite before committing to enterprise identity and audit controls?
- Recommendation
- Do not begin a full rewrite yet. Separate identity and audit responsibilities, test the integration boundary, and measure one release cycle first.
- Why
- A full rewrite combines several unresolved decisions into one difficult-to-reverse commitment. A smaller intervention can produce evidence for the larger choice.
- Decision checkpoint
- Proceed with the current platform, replace the constrained component, or approve a broader platform program.
First 30 days
- Name the executive decision owner.
- Document the identity and audit boundaries.
- Run a focused test of the integration path.
- Agree on delivery, reliability, and rollback signals.
- Hold a checkpoint once the evidence is available.
Clear before work begins.
The decision, access, cadence, deliverables, timeline, and fixed fee are agreed before the Review starts. There is no ongoing commitment.