Decision Memo Pack

Purpose

Turn a decision question + options + evidence into a decision-ready memo (roughly 2–4 pages when rendered). The output should help a named decision-maker choose a path, understand the trade-offs, and start execution.

This skill drafts and structures. The human verifies facts, replaces source placeholders, validates scores, and owns the final call.

When to use

Use this skill when the user asks for:

• A recommendation between two or more business, product, market, vendor, or operating options
• A go / no-go, build / buy, pilot / wait, or prioritisation memo
• A concise decision record before a meeting, approval, or investment of time and budget
• A structured action plan tied to a recommendation and decision gates

Do not use for legal, medical, tax, investment, trading, or other regulated advice; a full academic literature review; or decisions requiring live data the agent does not have. Offer a scoped, human-verified draft instead.

Inputs

Collect once if missing; do not invent:

Input	Required	Notes
decision_question	Yes	The choice to make, phrased as a question
audience	Yes	Decision-maker(s), context, and what they value
options	Yes	Two or more options; include “do nothing” where relevant
criteria	Recommended	Evaluation criteria; ask for weights if material
context	Recommended	Goal, constraints, budget, geography, and time horizon
evidence	Recommended	User notes, documents, URLs, metrics, or interview findings
deadline	Optional	When the decision must be made
risk_tolerance	Optional	conservative | balanced | aggressive
implementation_window	Optional	E.g. 30/60/90 days
constraints	Optional	Must-include, must-avoid, length, or format requirements

If decision_question, audience, or options is missing, ask for them before drafting.

Method

1. Frame the decision — restate the question, audience, deadline, constraints, and success conditions. Flag assumptions.
2. Define the test — use the buyer criteria; if absent, propose neutral criteria and label them as proposed.
3. Inspect evidence — separate supplied facts, inferences, and unknowns. Never invent a source or number.
4. Compare options — score only when a basis exists; otherwise use qualitative ratings and explain the trade-off.
5. Recommend — choose a preferred option or state why the decision remains conditional. Include confidence and the evidence that would change the recommendation.
6. Stress-test — list risks, dependencies, reversibility, early warnings, and mitigations.
7. Plan — provide an immediate next step and 7/30/90-day milestones or a timeframe suited to the decision.
8. Verify — label source placeholders, open questions, and any human review required.

Required output format

Return this Markdown structure (omit a section only if genuinely not applicable and say why):

# Decision memo: {{short title}}

**Decision question:** {{decision_question}}  
**Audience:** {{audience}}  
**Decision deadline:** {{deadline or "Not stated"}}  
**Context / horizon:** {{context and horizon}}  
**Generated:** {{date}} · Draft for human verification — not advice

## 1. Decision at a glance
**Recommendation:** {{preferred option, or conditional / defer}}  
**Confidence:** high | medium | low  
**Why:** 2–4 sentences tied to the stated criteria and evidence.

## 2. Decision frame
- Success conditions: …
- Constraints: …
- Assumptions: …
- What is in / out of scope: …

## 3. Options and scorecard

| Option | Fit to criteria | Upside | Trade-offs | Evidence / confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| … | … | … | … | … |

## 4. Recommendation and decision gates
Explain why the preferred option wins or why the decision is conditional. List 2–4 gates, triggers, or facts that would change the recommendation.

## 5. Risks and dependencies

| Risk / dependency | Severity | Early warning | Mitigation / owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| … | high/medium/low | … | … |

## 6. Action plan

| When | Action | Owner | Success check / gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Now | … | … | … |
| 7 days | … | … | … |
| 30 days | … | … | … |
| 90 days | … | … | … |

## 7. Open questions and source placeholders
1. [VERIFY: …]
2. [SOURCE: description — URL TBD]

## 8. Suggested next step
One concrete action the audience can take this week (≤40 words).

Quality bar

• Use en-GB spelling and a direct, decision-useful tone.
• Keep facts, assumptions, estimates, and recommendations visibly separate.
• Do not fabricate URLs, data, quotes, credentials, or certainty.
• If evidence is thin, lower confidence and expand open questions rather than padding.
• Do not give regulated advice or guarantee an outcome.

Example invocation

decision_question: Should a 4-person SaaS team pilot self-serve onboarding this quarter?
audience: Founder and product lead deciding where to spend the next six weeks
options: Improve sales-assisted onboarding; pilot self-serve onboarding; defer and fix activation analytics
criteria: expected learning, effort, customer risk, reversibility
context: Existing customers are high-touch; budget and engineering capacity are constrained
evidence: User-supplied activation notes and interview summaries
deadline: Friday planning meeting
risk_tolerance: balanced

Licence note for buyers

Purchasing this skill grants use inside compatible agents per the marketplace licence. Redistribution as a competing listing requires the creator’s written permission.