User Guidelines

1. What Decision Room Is (and Is Not)

Decision Room is suited to:

• Operational decisions with multiple variables
• Situations with competing priorities
• Scenarios where the outcome is unclear
• Problems that benefit from structured thinking

Decision Room is not suited to:

• Irreversible, strategic decisions
• Decisions that define the core direction of a business
• Situations requiring legal, financial, or specialist advice
• Decisions where the answer is already known but avoided

Rule of thumb:
If the decision will permanently shape the identity or future of the business, it should not be submitted to Decision Room. For executive level decision making we recommend PIDA Advisory.

2. Choosing the Right Type of Decision

To obtain full value, the decision should sit in this range:

Too Small (Low Value)

• “Should I ask for a salary increase?”
• “Should I send this email?”
• “Should I hire now or wait a week?”

These are judgement calls. Decision Room will provide you with a multi—perspective analysis however it’s unlikely to justify the cost.

Too Large (Not Appropriate)

• “Should I sell the business?”
• “Should we pivot the entire company?”
• “Should we enter a new global market?”

These are strategic decisions with significant impacts that require leadership discussion, not just analysis.

Appropriate (High Value Use Cases)

• “Which supplier model should we adopt under cost pressure?”
• “How should we restructure a team to improve delivery without increasing headcount?”
• “What is the best pricing strategy given margin constraints and competitor movement?”
• “How should we prioritise competing operational initiatives with limited resources?”

These are decisions where:

• The stakes are real
• The inputs are complex
• The outcome is uncertain
• And clarity has value

The examples shown above are generic examples only, to provide you with an indication of the level of decision making that would benefit the most from a Decision Room analysis. If you are not sure simply submit the question and be sure you make the right decision.

3. Characteristics of a Strong Submission

Clarity of the decision

• A single, well-defined question
• Not multiple decisions bundled together

Good:

“Should we consolidate suppliers to reduce cost at the risk of supply chain fragility?”

Poor:

“How do we fix operations, improve margins, and grow revenue?”

Defined context

• What is happening right now?
• Why is this decision required?

Constraints

• Budget limits
• Time pressures
• Resource availability
• External factors

Options (if known)

• Option A vs Option B vs Option C
• Or at least the current default vs alternatives

Success criteria

• What does a “good outcome” look like?
• Cost reduction? Speed? Stability? Growth?

4. Examples of Input Data

The analysis process performs best when fed structured, relevant information.

Operational Context

• Current processes
• Known inefficiencies
• Performance metrics

Financial Inputs

• Cost as a percentage
• Margin percent
• Revenue implications

People & Capability

• Team structure
• Skills available
• Capacity constraints

Risk Factors

• Known risks
• Unknowns
• Dependencies

External Conditions

• Market pressure
• Competitor behaviour
• Regulatory or supply constraints

5. What to Avoid

• Emotional or reactive decisions
• Vague or incomplete problems
• Decisions already made in practice
• Inputs designed to “force” a preferred outcome

Decision Room is only as effective as the quality of the data you put into it.

6. Confidential or sensitive information

Do not enter confidential or commercially sensitive data; financial, sales revenue, actual expenses, name of business, number of employees, specific product or service details.

The Decision Room process contains a sanitisation process. This is applied to your decision upon submission. Any identifying information is redacted from your submission.