--- name: go-nogo-memo description: >- Deliverables group skill. Produces a single GO / PIVOT / KILL memo consolidating all evidence into a one-page decision document. The only artifact most senior stakeholders read. Adapted for outsourcing — decision-owner is typically the client, agency provides recommendation with evidence chain. group: deliverables produces: go-no-go-memo.md consumes: discovery-context.md, all available upstream artifacts origin: ECC --- # Go / No-Go Memo The terminal decision document. Everything before this fed into it; everything after follows from it. In outsourcing, the **agency recommends**, the **client decides** — the memo must support both perspectives. ## When to run - End of any discovery cycle - Standalone if BA brings in evidence from elsewhere and just needs to write the memo - Re-run after major new evidence (re-versioned) Differs from `proposal`: proposal is commercial (here's what we'd do, please sign); memo is decisional (here's what we believe, please decide). They can co-exist. ## Step 1 — Read context + scan evidence Read `discovery-context.md`. Halt if missing. Pull **5. Expected deliverable** — must include "go-no-go memo" or be ambiguous. Scan `./discovery/` for available artifacts. Even partial discovery can produce a memo, but flag the gaps. ## Step 2 — Force the decision first Before writing anything, ask the BA: > "Based on what we have, what's the recommendation: GO / PIVOT / KILL? One word. We'll justify on paper next." If they hesitate or equivocate, probe: - "What's the one finding that would flip this to the opposite answer?" - "If you had to bet 10% of the agency's quarterly capacity (or your own time) on this, would you?" - "Imagine this memo arrived from another team. Would you approve their recommendation?" The memo serves the recommendation. No defensive prose. ## Step 3 — Outsourcing context: clarify decision split Two roles must be explicit: - **Recommendation owner** — the agency BA / lead. Owns the recommendation in the memo. - **Decision owner** — typically the client (per `discovery-context.md` engagement). The memo gives them what they need to decide. State both at top of memo. "We (agency) recommend X. Decision rests with ``." ## Step 4 — Decision (line 1) The first line of the memo: **"Recommendation: GO / PIVOT / KILL — ``."** Not in paragraph 3. Not buried in summary. Line 1. ## Step 5 — TL;DR (3 bullets) For phone-readability: - - - ## Step 6 — Recommendation rationale (2 paragraphs max) What should happen Monday morning. If GO: who, scope, ship window, success metric. If PIVOT: new hypothesis + what carries over. If KILL: one-sentence reason + trigger for reconsidering. ## Step 7 — Evidence chain Link every artifact in `./discovery/`. A reader who disagrees with the recommendation can audit the chain in 20 minutes. ``` - [Discovery Context](./discovery-context.md) - [Problem Canvas](./problem-canvas.md) - [Insight Matrix](./insight-matrix.md) - [Risk & Assumption Map](./risk-assumption-map.md) - [Scope Doc](./scope-doc.md) - [Tech Spike Report](./tech-spike-report.md) (if applicable) - [Prototype Plan](./poc-plan.md) (if applicable) - ... ``` ## Step 8 — Key findings (3-5) Each finding = one-sentence claim + one quote / data point. Quotable in future planning docs. ## Step 9 — Risks that remain From `risk-assumption-map.md` rows NOT retired during discovery. With owner per row. In outsourcing, distinguish: - Risks the **client** owns post-decision - Risks the **agency** owns if engagement converts ## Step 10 — Decision-specific section Fill ONE; delete the others. ### If GO - Proposed scope: link to `scope-doc.md` - Proposed owner: - Proposed timeline: - First next step (this week): - Success metric + when measured: - Commercial path: link to `proposal.md` / `sow-draft.md` if applicable ### If PIVOT - New hypothesis: - What changed our mind: - What artifacts carry over (interviews still valid? scope obsolete?): - Recommended next-cycle scope: - Estimated effort to re-discover: ### If KILL - One-sentence reason: - What would need to change for this to be worth revisiting: - Where this memo should be archived (so we don't re-ask in 6 months): - Resources released back to agency / client capacity: ## Step 11 — Signatures - Recommendation by (agency): name, role, date - Decision by (client): name, role, date — **left blank until the client decides** - Reviewers: ## Output `./discovery/go-no-go-memo.md` per `./template.md`. Update `DISCOVERY.md` index to "Cycle complete — recommendation: ``; decision: pending/``". Append to `_log.md`: `[go-nogo-memo | ] recommendation: ; decision-owner: ; commercial path: `. ## Anti-patterns - **"Needs more research."** Almost always KILL or PIVOT in disguise. Name it. If you genuinely need another cycle, name the specific question, the specific test, and the cost — otherwise "more research" is a graveyard. - **GO by default.** Teams hate killing projects they researched. Apply the third-party test: "would you approve this if it came from another team?" - **Buried recommendation.** Line 1, no exceptions. - **Memo without evidence links.** Claims rot; linked claims survive. - **Conflating recommendation and decision.** In outsourcing, agency recommends, client decides. Be explicit. - **No risks-remain section.** This is where the engagement quietly fails post-launch. Capture them with owners.