| name | decision-memo |
| description | Create decision memos that frame context, options, tradeoffs, risks, recommendation, and implementation implications. Use when Codex needs to turn analysis, stakeholder input, ambiguous choices, or strategic questions into a structured decision document for enterprise leaders. |
Decision Memo
Workflow
- Clarify the decision to be made, decision owner, deadline, and audience.
- Separate facts, assumptions, constraints, preferences, and unknowns.
- Define 2-4 viable options, including a default or no-change option when relevant.
- Compare options using business impact, speed, cost, risk, reversibility, and operating complexity.
- Recommend one option with explicit rationale, risks, and next steps.
Output Standard
Use this structure by default:
- Decision Required: the exact choice to make.
- Recommendation: one clear recommendation and why.
- Context: relevant background and current state.
- Options Considered: options, benefits, costs, and risks.
- Tradeoff Analysis: compact comparison of the decision criteria.
- Risks And Mitigations: material risks and how to reduce them.
- Implementation Notes: owners, first steps, dependencies, and success measures.
- Open Questions: unresolved facts that could change the recommendation.
Rules
- Do not hide uncertainty. Label assumptions and missing information.
- Do not create a false consensus when stakeholder positions conflict.
- Prefer reversible, low-regret recommendations when evidence is thin.
- Make the decision path auditable enough for later review.
References
Read references/memo-patterns.md when the user asks for a one-page memo, executive committee memo, or weighted decision matrix.
