# Decisions AI Skill Focus Area · Decisions Move · Decision Map --- ## 1. What the Skill Does The Decisions skill helps teams turn evidence into a clear next move. It is the final move inside the Focus area of Glare's Decision Map. This is where the work stops circling and the team commits — naming what should happen next, why, and who owns it. By the time a team reaches Decisions, the initiative is clear, the method has framed the data, and comparing has shown what is stronger. The only thing left is to choose. Without a decision, findings stay in decks. Meetings keep revisiting the same questions. Work that is ready to move stays open because nobody named the next step. The Decisions skill gives teams five clear types to choose from. Each one tells the team exactly what happens after the meeting. | Decision Type | When to use it | |---|---| | Implement | The signal is strong, the tradeoff is acceptable, and the next step is clear | | Refine Design | The direction is right but something needs to improve before the team commits | | Test Iteration | The direction is still open and a sharper comparison is needed | | Revisit Later | The idea has potential but the timing or context is not right | | Do Not Pursue | The signal is weak or the tradeoff is not worth more investment | Every decision lands in one of these five. If the team leaves a meeting with "let's keep exploring," that is not a decision — it is a deferred one. The Decisions skill forces the team to name which type applies and what happens next. **The Signal-First Rule** Teams often make decisions from feeling. A stakeholder feels confident. The team feels uncertain. The design feels ready. Feeling is not a signal — and a decision without a signal behind it will get reopened the next time someone questions it. The rule is simple: a decision should not be made until it is grounded in a signal that has been framed and compared clearly enough to support action. If the signal is not there yet, go back to Comparing or Methods. A decision made without evidence is just an opinion that got written down. --- ## 2. Business Benefit Decisions move work forward. Without them, research findings sit in documents and design effort loops back on itself. With a clear decision, every part of the business knows what to do next. This helps teams: - stop reopening discussions that have already produced a signal - give product a reason to prioritize one direction over another - give leadership something to back with confidence - protect the team from spending more time on work that does not create value - close the loop between research and the next sprint A strong decision is the last thing Focus produces — and the first thing the rest of the business acts on. --- ## 3. Skill Output When used correctly, the skill produces a clear decision record for a design effort. The record shows: - what was decided - the signal behind the choice - the tradeoff the team accepted - the decision type - the next step and who owns it The example below shows how this works for a mobile banking dashboard. | Field | Example Output (Mobile Banking Dashboard) | |---|---| | What Is Being Decided | Which home screen layout to move forward with for the mobile banking dashboard update | | Signal | Redesigned version scored 79% on first-click success vs. 61% for the current version (Helio usability test, 100 habitual users) | | Comparison Context | Redesigned version is 18 points stronger on findability. Tradeoff: reduced shortcut visibility may affect power users. | | Tradeoff Accepted | Improved findability for habitual users is the higher priority. Power user shortcuts will be addressed in a follow-on initiative. | | Decision Type | Implement — signal is strong, tradeoff is named and accepted, next step is clear | | Next Step | Design team moves redesigned layout into production planning. Research team flags power user shortcut gap for the next sprint. | | Failure Mode to Watch | Choosing "Test Iteration" as a way to avoid committing. Another round of testing is only valid if the team can name exactly what the new iteration would change and what a stronger signal would look like. Vague iteration decisions are deferred Implement or Do Not Pursue decisions. | | Next Step Handoff | → glare-lead to connect this decision to business KPIs and prove impact at the leadership level | The output connects directly to the other Focus moves: - Initiatives names what the decision is actually supporting - Methods names the frame the signal came from - Comparing provides the finding and tradeoff that ground the choice --- ## 4. Prompt Strategies The prompts below show different ways to use this skill. Each example uses a mobile banking dashboard update. --- ### Prompt 1 — Diagnostic Entry: Break a stalled decision "Our team has been discussing the mobile banking dashboard redesign for three sprints. We have usability data showing the new version performs better, but some stakeholders want another round of testing before committing. Using the glare-focus-decisions skill, help us apply the signal-first rule to this situation, name the decision type that fits our current evidence, and explain what would actually justify another round of testing vs. moving forward." **Why this works:** Requests for more testing are often a sign the decision has not been grounded in the signal clearly enough. This prompt uses the five decision types and the signal-first rule to name whether the evidence already supports Implement, or whether a Test Iteration decision is genuinely needed — with specific criteria for what would make the next round useful. **Best for:** - any decision that keeps getting deferred to another research round - preparing for a stakeholder review where someone will push back on moving forward - making the case that the current evidence is strong enough to act on --- ### Prompt 2 — Tradeoff Entry: Make a decision with competing signals "Our mobile banking dashboard comparison showed that Version A is stronger on first-click success (79% vs 71%) but Version B is stronger on post-task satisfaction (4.2 vs 3.7). Our initiative is focused on reducing session abandonment. Using glare-focus-decisions, help us name the tradeoff, choose the right decision type, and write the decision record — including the signal, the tradeoff accepted, the next step, and who owns it." **Why this works:** When two signals point in different directions, the team needs to connect both back to the initiative goal to find the right decision. This prompt uses the five-step decision process to move the team off the score debate and toward a named tradeoff the whole team can stand behind. **Best for:** - any decision where two versions each win on a different metric - preparing a decision record that needs to survive a stakeholder challenge - connecting competing research results to the specific goal the initiative is trying to move --- ### Prompt 3 — Closure Entry: Write a complete decision record "We have decided to move forward with the redesigned mobile banking dashboard home screen. The signal was strong, the tradeoff is named, and the team is aligned. Using glare-focus-decisions, help us write a complete decision record — covering the initiative, the signal, the comparison, the tradeoff accepted, the decision type, the next steps, and the handoffs to product, design, research, and leadership." **Why this works:** A decision that is not recorded gets reopened. This prompt uses the decision record structure to capture everything the team agreed on — so product knows what to prioritize, design knows what to refine next, research knows what gap still needs evidence, and leadership has something concrete to back. **Best for:** - closing out a sprint or research cycle with a documented decision - preparing a handoff that needs to travel to product, engineering, or leadership - building a habit of recording decisions alongside the evidence that produced them --- *Glare Framework · glare-focus-decisions · Focus Area* *Handoffs: glare-focus-initiatives · glare-focus-methods · glare-focus-comparing · glare-lead*