Decision Support Tools

Decision support tools that make commitments visible.

Practical decision support tools that help teams see assumptions, margin, cost and responsibility before pressure arrives.

The idea

A decision support tool does not decide for anyone. It holds the shape of the situation so the people carrying responsibility can see what is being traded before the commitment hardens.


What this page covers
What the tool should surface

What the tool should surface

The line being approached, the margin available, the assumptions being accepted, the cost being created, and the people who may inherit that cost.

What it should not do

What it should not do

It should not become a compliance layer, a substitute for judgement, or a way of outsourcing responsibility to a screen.

Useful forms

Useful forms

A planning display, a decision log, a set of prompts, a margin timeline, an assumptions register, or a simple operational board.

Good first step

Good first step

Start with the repeated decision that already causes friction. Then build the smallest thing that makes that decision easier to see.


Useful questions
  • What are we assuming will stay true?
  • What margin exists if that assumption moves?
  • Who carries the first layer of difficulty?
  • What would make this decision feel different tomorrow?

A rough problem is enough

You do not need a specification. Start with what keeps causing friction or what you are trying to make clearer.

Send the rough problem