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01 / Strategy & Decision-Making

Decision Architecture Navigator

The right approach to the right decision. Begin with the outcomes you want, then consider how to decide.

  1. 01 →
    Intended outcomes
  2. 02 →
    Decision context
    Four dimensions
  3. 03 →
    Decision approach
  4. 04 →
    Execution
  5. 05 →
    Realized outcomes
  6. 06 ↺
    Learning & adaptation
01

Define intended outcomes

02

Assess the decision

Four separate dimensions. Higher reversal scores mean harder to undo; higher urgency means greater cost of delay.

Impact

How consequential is this decision for the business?

Not assessed
Scale anchors · 1–5
  1. 1. Limited — localized, minimal effect
  2. 2. Modest — contained team-level effect
  3. 3. Material — team, function or bounded program
  4. 4. Significant — multiple functions or major value
  5. 5. Enterprise-critical — strategic, financial or operational consequence
Cost/difficulty to reverse

What would it take to undo or switch this decision? Higher means harder to reverse.

Not assessed
Scale anchors · 1–5
  1. 1. Easy — low undo cost, minimal disruption
  2. 2. Manageable — limited rework or switching cost
  3. 3. Moderate — dependencies and resource costs
  4. 4. Difficult — major rework, sunk costs or lock-in
  5. 5. Very difficult — substantial lock-in, safety/compliance or irreversible consequences
Uncertainty

Which unknowns could change your preferred option?

Not assessed
Scale anchors · 1–5
  1. 1. Well understood — validated evidence and assumptions
  2. 2. Mostly understood — few decision-relevant unknowns
  3. 3. Some uncertainty — meaningful assumptions remain
  4. 4. High uncertainty — critical assumptions untested
  5. 5. Major unknowns — several could alter the preferred option
Urgency

What is the actual cost of postponing? A management meeting alone is not urgency.

Not assessed
Scale anchors · 1–5
  1. 1. Little cost to wait — no near-term penalty
  2. 2. Low — limited penalty for delay
  3. 3. Meaningful — milestone or opportunity cost over time
  4. 4. High — near-term value loss or exposure
  5. 5. Severe — imminent loss, expiring window or binding requirement
03

Three lenses. One decision.

The charts describe different aspects of the same decision, not three conflicting recommendations. A score of 3 sits on the middle divider.

Impact × Reversibility

Impact · high ↑StrategicexperimentsCriticalcommitmentsRoutinedecisionsControlleddecisions13512345EasyDifficultCost/difficulty to reverse →
Not yet assessed
Awaiting both scores.

Uncertainty × Reversibility

Uncertainty · high ↑Experiment &learnReduceuncertaintyDecide &executeValidate &commit13512345EasyDifficultCost/difficulty to reverse →
Not yet assessed
Awaiting both scores.

Urgency × Reversibility

Urgency · high ↑ActimmediatelyDecide underpressureDelegate ordeferPlan &prepare13512345EasyDifficultCost/difficulty to reverse →
Not yet assessed
Awaiting both scores.
04

Turn the approach into a decision brief

Complete the four dimensions to prepare your brief. No inputs are required to explore the assessment.

A good decision can produce a bad outcome, and vice versa. Annie Duke calls this distinction “resulting” in Thinking in Bets. Review the quality of your reasoning as well as the outcomes realized.

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Read the thinking behind the framework