Decision Room — User Guidelines

1. What Decision Room Is (and Is Not)

Decision Room is suited to:

• Operational decisions with multiple variables
• Situations with competing priorities
• Scenarios where the outcome is unclear
• Problems that benefit from structured thinking

Decision Room is not suited to:

• Irreversible, strategic decisions
• Decisions that define the core direction of a business
• Situations requiring legal, financial, or specialist advice
• Decisions where the answer is already known but avoided

Rule of thumb:
If the decision will permanently shape the identity or future of the business, it should not be outsourced to a system.

2. Choosing the Right Type of Decision

To obtain full value, the decision should sit in this range:

Too Small (Low Value)

• “Should I ask for a salary increase?”
• “Should I send this email?”
• “Should I hire now or wait a week?”

These are judgement calls. Decision Room will provide you with a multi—perspective analysis however it’s unlikely to justify the cost.

Too Large (Not Appropriate)

• “Should I sell the business?”
• “Should we pivot the entire company?”
• “Should we enter a new global market?”

These are strategic decisions with significant impacts that require leadership discussion, not just analysis.

Appropriate (High Value Use Cases)

• “Which supplier model should we adopt under cost pressure?”
• “How should we restructure a team to improve delivery without increasing headcount?”
• “What is the best pricing strategy given margin constraints and competitor movement?”
• “How should we prioritise competing operational initiatives with limited resources?”

These are decisions where:

• The stakes are real
• The inputs are complex
• The outcome is uncertain
• And clarity has value

The examples shown above are generic examples only, to provide you with an indication of the level of decision making that would benefit the most from a Decision Room analysis. If you are not sure simply submit the question and be sure you make the right decision.

3. Characteristics of a Strong Submission

Clarity of the decision

• A single, well-defined question
• Not multiple decisions bundled together

Good:

“Should we consolidate suppliers to reduce cost at the risk of supply chain fragility?”

Poor:

“How do we fix operations, improve margins, and grow revenue?”

Defined context

• What is happening right now?
• Why is this decision required?

Constraints

• Budget limits
• Time pressures
• Resource availability
• External factors

Options (if known)

• Option A vs Option B vs Option C
• Or at least the current default vs alternatives

Success criteria

• What does a “good outcome” look like?
• Cost reduction? Speed? Stability? Growth?

4. Examples of Input Data

The analysis process performs best when fed structured, relevant information.

Operational Context

• Current processes
• Known inefficiencies
• Performance metrics

Financial Inputs

• Cost as a percentage
• Margin percent
• Revenue implications

People & Capability

• Team structure
• Skills available
• Capacity constraints

Risk Factors

• Known risks
• Unknowns
• Dependencies

External Conditions

• Market pressure
• Competitor behaviour
• Regulatory or supply constraints

5. What to Avoid

• Emotional or reactive decisions
• Vague or incomplete problems
• Decisions already made in practice
• Inputs designed to “force” a preferred outcome

Decision Room is only as effective as the integrity of what you put into it.

6. Confidential or sensitive information

Do not enter confidential or commercially sensitive data; financial, sales revenue, actual expenses, name of business, number of employees, specific product or service details.

The Decision Room process contains a sanitisation process. This is applied to your decision upon submission. Any identifying information is redacted from your submission.