Decision Review ยท Know before you commit
Is your business case strong enough to justify the investment?
An outside second opinion on one important business commitment. We challenge the evidence and assumptions, compare credible alternatives, and check the work needed to produce the result.
Get started How it works- Commitment reviewed
- A $225,000 order-processing system
- Intended result
- Lower order-entry costs and errors, without delaying deliveries
- Recommendation
- Get specific evidence first
- Next action
- Establish which spending would actually fall and what work remains.
The problem
The business case can leave an important question unanswered
The sponsor has reasons. Finance has numbers. Operations has a plan. Each may have completed a useful review, yet the proposal can still depend on an assumption nobody has checked.
Expected savings may depend on eliminating work that still needs to be done. New equipment may add capacity without enough demand to use it. A system may work technically while nobody owns the work needed to produce the business result.
The problem is not necessarily missing analysis. It's knowing which assumptions could change the decision, whether the available evidence answers them, and what to do next.
The numbers can add up while the decision still depends on an untested assumption.
Before you commit the money, challenge the business case.
The approach
One focused review, not another consulting project
Decision Review is designed to reduce the days and management attention spent revisiting a proposed commitment. It does not require a consulting team or a new study by default.
Start with what exists
Use the business case, proposal, operating records, and prior reviews already available. Ask for more only when it could change the decision.
Limit the back-and-forth
Direct unresolved questions to the people who own the facts. Don't gather the same information from every department again.
Get a decision, not a new project
Receive a concise written recommendation, its decisive reasons, and a specific next action. Scope, cost, and timing are agreed in advance.
What we review
One defined operating commitment at a time
We review the evidence available to support the commitment. Examples include:
Business systems
Buying or replacing ERP, CRM, or other business software; upgrading a system; expanding a rollout.
Process changes
Changing approvals, handoffs, service delivery, or workflows to improve cost, speed, or reliability.
Equipment and capacity
Adding equipment, production or warehouse capacity, or another operating location based on expected demand and return.
Automation
Automating document handling, order processing, reporting, or a defined workflow, including a specific AI use case.
Vendors and services
Replacing a major operating supplier, changing service arrangements, or bringing a defined process in-house.
Project commitments
Approving the next project phase, extending a pilot, or deciding whether further spending is justified.
Decision Review examines the business case and the work needed to deliver its promised result. It is not engineering, legal, tax, cybersecurity, valuation, or acquisition due diligence. When a decision depends on a specialist determination, we identify the exact question for the company's qualified people or advisers.
The outcome
Five possible findings
The commitment should fit the evidence and the consequence of being wrong.
Proceed
The evidence supports the defined commitment, the operating requirements are feasible, and the remaining risk is within the decision owner's accepted limits.
Proceed with changes
Specific changes make the commitment supportable, and the evidence already supports them. The brief states what must change and how completion should be checked.
Test before committing
A bounded trial can resolve an uncertainty that matters in time to inform the decision, with a defined question, exposure, measures, owner, and stopping conditions.
Get specific evidence first
A missing fact or conflict could change the decision and can be resolved through records, analysis, clarification, or specialist review.
Do not proceed
The proposal breaches a binding constraint, has an unfavorable case on the evidence, or carries downside beyond the decision owner's accepted limit.
A resolvable evidence gap calls for a specific check or test. It does not, by itself, establish that the proposal should be rejected.
What do you need to know before you commit?
Tell us what you're considering, when you must decide, and what you're unsure of. We'll determine whether a focused Decision Review can help before any engagement begins.