The one-page
decision brief.

By Karya · Decision Engineering

A decision brief records the choice you face, the evidence behind it and what would make you change course. It gives a team something concrete to challenge before money, time or reputation is committed.

At Karya, Decision Engineering starts with the decision and the context around it. This template brings that discipline into a single conversation. Complete it before asking an AI system for a recommendation. Missing answers tell you where to investigate next.

Go straight to the blank template

Eight questions before you commit

  1. 1. What decision must be made, by whom, and by when?

    Write a choice, not an ambition. ‘Improve growth’ is an ambition. ‘Choose whether to pilot a new distributor before the next buying cycle’ is a decision. Name one accountable owner and the deadline. A room can contribute without becoming the owner.

  2. 2. What are the real alternatives?

    Include continuing as you are, delaying, and a smaller reversible step. A choice between two proposals may conceal a better third route. Give each option the same scrutiny, including the cost of doing nothing.

  3. 3. What would make this worth doing?

    Name the outcome and the constraints before judging the proposals. Margin, working capital and management attention can point in different directions. Record which trade-off the owner is willing to make. A revenue target alone can reward a decision that makes the business weaker.

  4. 4. What do we know, and where did it come from?

    Attach a source and date to each material claim. Separate an observed result from a forecast, a customer's stated intention from a purchase, and a repeated anecdote from a measured pattern. Mark the gaps explicitly. An unknown is useful when everyone can see it.

  5. 5. What has to be true for each option to work?

    Write the assumptions as claims you could test. ‘The partner is strong’ is difficult to challenge. ‘The partner can reach these buyers at a sustainable acquisition cost’ tells you what evidence to seek. Focus on assumptions that combine uncertainty with consequence.

  6. 6. What would show that we are wrong?

    Name the evidence that would weaken your preferred option before committing to it. Distinguish an early warning from a noisy week. Choose a measurement window that fits the actual buying or operating cycle, and assign someone to watch it.

  7. 7. What is the smallest useful test?

    A useful test resolves an uncertainty that could change the decision. Specify what you will learn, how much time and money you will spend, and what the test cannot establish. A pilot that proves technical feasibility may tell you nothing about adoption or repeat purchases.

  8. 8. When will we review, expand, stop or reverse?

    Set the review date, the evidence to bring and the decision owner. Write the stop conditions alongside the success conditions. Record the reasons for the final choice so that a later review can distinguish a poor process from an unlucky outcome.

Worked example: entering a new market

Illustrative example, not a Karya client result. An industrial supplier is considering a new regional distributor. The proposed launch appears attractive because the distributor reports access to a large buyer network. The decision brief exposes a different question: will that access produce repeat orders without tying up too much cash?

Options
A full launch, a limited pilot with named buyers, or continuing with the current sales channel.
Critical assumption
Buyer access will convert into paid repeat orders on terms the supplier can sustain. Introductions alone do not establish this.
Useful test
A bounded pilot that measures order conversion, contribution margin and cash collection over a relevant purchase cycle. Set thresholds using the supplier's own economics before the pilot starts.
Reason to reconsider
Sales require concessions that erase the margin, or payment delays exceed the agreed working-capital limit. The owner reviews both before approving expansion.

Copy the decision brief template

Paste this into your team's document. Keep the brief to one page and link to the supporting evidence. You do not need to enter business information on this website.

DECISION BRIEF
Decision:
Owner and deadline:
Options, including no change:
Desired outcome and constraints:
Evidence, sources and dates:
Critical assumptions by option:
Evidence that would change our mind:
Smallest useful test and its limits:
Review date and owner:
Expand / stop / reverse conditions:
Final choice and reasoning:

Template: https://www.the-karya.com/resources/decision-brief

When the brief is not enough

A brief organises the question. It does not validate the evidence or make a simulation predictive. When the options interact, the evidence conflicts or the downside is hard to reverse, the next step is deeper investigation. Karya's Decision Engineering service brings research and competing lines of reasoning around the decision. The final judgment remains with the leader.

Start with the decision your business is facing, or bring your completed brief to a conversation.

Discuss your decision