Who gets to decide

What the paper develops

A review can show that a project is late, a risk has changed, or another team needs the same people. The meeting still ends with a request for more analysis when no one has the right to redirect, pause, or stop the work.

An org chart does not answer that question. It names jobs. A decision contract names who takes each step when a real choice arrives.

First, name the recommender. That person builds the case, options, evidence, and due date. Second, name any agree role. Use a veto only for a real legal, safety, or policy limit, and require an option or an escalation path.

Third, name the decider. One person can close most operating choices. A board or required group can decide when the rules demand it, but the contract must say how the group closes the vote. Fourth, name the performer who changes the funding, work, permission, or record.

Add the four jobs to the intake form, stage gate, decision record, and delivery tool. If an agree role rejects a plan, record the limit, an acceptable option, and where the case goes next. If the decider misses the due date, pause, escalate, or use a short, recorded extension.

An agent can prepare a recommendation or act inside an approved limit. Named people still set the limit, decide exceptions, and own recovery. A rule can stop an unsafe action without gaining the right to restart the work.

Use the full contract for choices that are hard to reverse, affect other teams, or create real exposure. Keep low-cost choices close to the work.

Pick five recent decisions. Trace who built the case, who could block it, who closed it, and who changed the work. Repair the missing role, rule, or workflow step before the next decision arrives.