# Stage 1: What decision are you actually trying to make?

**Write a two-page decision charter before inviting demonstrations.** The purpose is to distinguish a software problem from a process, data or staffing problem.

### What should the charter contain?

Use these fields:

- **Trigger:** examination finding, control deficiency, renewal, acquisition, reporting requirement or operational bottleneck.
- **Current failure:** a specific activity that does not work adequately.
- **Affected population:** entities, functions, users and records.
- **First outcome:** what should be demonstrably different after release one.
- **Decision deadline:** including the reason it is fixed.
- **Alternatives:** retain, repair, configure, buy or build.
- **Sponsor and decision rights:** who resolves conflicting requirements.
- **Funding boundary:** selection, delivery and ongoing operation.
- **Exclusions:** work explicitly outside the first release.
- **Success evidence:** the report, transaction or completed process that will prove usefulness.

A good first outcome is specific: *A control owner can submit evidence, a reviewer can challenge it, a failed test creates an accountable action, and the committee report traces back to those records.*

An insufficient outcome is: *Create a single source of truth.*

### How do you establish a baseline?

Measure the existing workflow before changing it. Suggested measures include:

- Time spent requesting and chasing evidence.
- Elapsed time from submission to review.
- Records without an accountable owner.
- Actions overdue under the current policy.
- Time required to reproduce the committee report.
- Requests that need manual reconciliation between systems.
- Costs of retained tools and external support.

Define the denominator and observation period. Separate labour capacity from avoidable expenditure: a reduction in task time is not a payroll saving unless finance identifies an actual cash consequence.

**Exit gate:** the sponsor can explain the problem, the first outcome, the alternatives and the person responsible for operating the result.