How To Configure Decisions

Admin access required. This configuration is done in Organization Settings.

Contents

Overview — What is a Decision?
Prerequisites — Define your User Groups
Creating a new Decision Template

3.1 Title and Description
3.2 Define Decision fields
3.3 Writing good field descriptions
3.4 Define Approval groups and rules

1. Overview - What is a Decision?

A Decision is the formal, documented record of which application your organization will adopt or reject, and why - the approved outcome of an Initiative's evaluation.

Every Decision is created from a Template. Templates are one of the core elements of Decisions in Stackgini - they define the content that appears in every Decision and can be tailored to your company's needs. You can set up different templates to cover the different types of decisions your organization makes, for example a security review, an architecture check, or a management approval. Best practice is, of course, to put everything into one decision template and execute the approval sequence via the Approval Groups, Dependencies and Approval rules. See below.

A Decision Template defines two things:


Document structure	The named fields a Decision must contain (e.g. Business Case, Trade-offs, Risks), which are required, and the guidance the AI uses to draft them.
Approval workflow	Which User Groups must approve, and the rules for how each group approves or rejects.

Configuring Decisions is two tasks, in this order:

Create your User Groups - the reusable sets of approvers.
Create one or more Decision Templates that use those groups.

Both live under Organization Settings → Decision Templates & User Groups.

Why templates? They standardize how every Decision in your organization is made and documented - so quality and the right approvals don't depend on who happens to be writing the Decision.

2. Prerequisites - Define your User Groups

Approvals in a Template are assigned to User Groups, so set those up first. User Groups are reusable sets of people or teams; once created, they can be wired into any Template.

Creating a group

Go to Organization Settings → User Groups.
Click Create new group.
Enter a Group name that reflects the team title (e.g. Security Team, IT Governance, Data Protection Office, Enterprise Architecture Team).
Use Search by name to find people and tick the checkbox next to each member.
Click Create Group - the button stays disabled until the group has a name and at least one member.

Tips

Name groups by team. Team-based names like "Security Team" or "Enterprise Architecture" reflect who is responsible and stay accurate as members change.
Build in redundancy. A group with 2 members can be configured to need just 1 approval - giving you a backup reviewer without requiring both to act.

Create at least the groups your first Template needs before moving on. You can always add more later.

3. Creating a new Decision Template

Go to Organization Settings → Decision Templates and click Create new Template.

The editor is a two-step flow: first define the fields and then configure the approval workflow with the appropriate approval groups added.

3.1 Title and Description

Field	What to enter
Template Title	A short, recognizable name — this is what users pick when creating a Decision (e.g. InfoSec Approval, Management Approval).
Template Description	One line explaining when to use this template (e.g. "For initiatives above €250,000 budget"). Shown under the title in the template picker - make it action-oriented. This description will be displayed to the user when selecting the respective decision template within an initiative.

3.2 Define Decision fields

Decision fields are the sections every Decision built from this template will contain. For each field, configure:

Setting	Description
Field title	The section heading in the main decision document (e.g. Problem Statement, Proposed Solution, Business Value).
Field description	The instruction that tells the end-user what to write - and that the AI uses to auto-draft the section. The more specific, the better the output for everyone.
Required	When on, decision authors must complete this field before submitting for approval. Shown with a red asterisk.

Use Add field to add sections; reorder or remove fields as needed.

Full example - Management Approval template

The following is a complete, ready-to-use template for high-budget decisions requiring management approval. It shows how all elements work together.

Template title: Management Approval

Template description: For initiatives within the >€250,000 budget range.

Field 1 — Problem Description & Proposed Solution

Describe the problem in simple and short layman's terms so that everyone

understands what the demand is about. Additionally, give a summary of the

proposed solution — as easy to understand as possible, no technical details

needed. 150 words total: 90 words for the problem statement, 60 words for the solution.

Field 2 — Value–Effort Scoring

Assess the solution using the Value–Effort Scoring Matrix and provide a

structured result.

Your task:

1. Estimate Value (Low / Medium / High)

Consider: impact on the user or business, strategic relevance, revenue or

retention effect, urgency, number of people affected.

2. Estimate Effort (Low / Medium / High)

Consider: time to implement, number of people or teams involved, technical

complexity, dependencies, risk.

3. Assign a quadrant:

- High Value + Low Effort → Quick Win (do first)

- High Value + High Effort → Strategic Bet (plan carefully)

- Low Value + Low Effort → Fill-in (do when bandwidth allows)

- Low Value + High Effort → Time Sink (avoid or challenge)

4. Give a recommendation in one sentence.

Structure the field in this order:

1. Short text summary

2. Value score

3. Effort score

4. Quadrant result including recommendation

Notes:

- Default to Medium when uncertain; use High or Low only when the signal

is clear.

- Do not invent assumptions about scope or team size — if unknown, say so.

Field 3 — Business Value

What is the net financial impact of the demand, considering revenue gains,

cost savings, or efficiency improvements? Keep it concise (70 words) and

grounded in the business case attached. If no business case is

attached, leave this field empty.

Present a structured, executive-ready benefit analysis:

- Include net present value (NPV) and ROI of the chosen solution.

- A cost-only perspective is not sufficient.

- Present most content in table format.

- Keep text summaries brief — only cover what the tables do not.

Financial benefit score — assign one of the following:

0 — No measurable financial benefit

1 — Marginal benefit; small efficiency gain or minor cost avoidance

2 — Moderate benefit; meaningful savings or revenue contribution in one area

3 — Significant benefit; substantial savings, revenue, or productivity

across multiple areas

4 — Transformational benefit; major financial impact at enterprise scale

When your fields are set, click Continue to define the approval workflow.

3.3 Writing good field descriptions

The field description is the most important thing you configure. Because it drives both what your team writes and what the AI drafts, a vague description produces vague output. The five principles below will help you get consistent, high-quality results.

1. Define the content and the audience

Every description should answer: what should this section contain, and who is it written for? Naming the audience calibrates vocabulary and depth.

Audience signal	Effect
"Describe in simple layman's terms"	Accessible to business stakeholders, no jargon
"Technical audience"	Allows acronyms, stack names, integration patterns
"Executive summary style"	Outcome-focused, minimal detail

2. Set word limits per section

Word limits keep outputs comparable across Decisions. Set budgets per sub-section rather than just a total.

"60 words total: 30 for the problem, 30 for the solution."

"2-sentence summary (max 40 words), then up to 4 bullet points."

3. Reference expected source documents

When a field should draw on a specific document, name the source explicitly.

"Base your analysis on an attached Business Case for the proposed solution."

4. Define scoring scales precisely

For scored fields, list every value on the scale with a definition. Include a reasoning section alongside each score so results are reviewable.

Architecture value — allowed values:

0 — Conflicts with target architecture; creates significant technical debt

1 — Deviates; adds minor debt or non-standard elements

2 — Architecturally neutral

3 — Aligned; uses approved patterns

4 — Actively enables target architecture; removes legacy elements

5. Structure multi-step fields clearly

For fields involving sequential reasoning, number the steps and add a calibration note for incomplete input.

1. Estimate Value (Low / Medium / High)

2. Estimate Effort (Low / Medium / High)

3. Assign quadrant based on the combination

4. Give a one-sentence recommendation

Quick checklist before saving a field

Does the description define what content to produce?
Does it name the intended reader or language level?
Does it set a word budget per sub-section?
Does it reference any source documents which are expected?
Does it define every allowed value for scored or classified fields?

3.4 Define Approval groups and rules

This step is headed "Select approval group(s)." Here you choose which User Groups must review a Decision and set the rules for each. The whole workflow runs in first-to-threshold mode: the first vote to hit either threshold wins — the Decision approves or rejects immediately, and remaining members are skipped.

For each group, configure:

Setting	Description
Minimum approvals required	How many approvals the group needs to pass. Once reached, remaining votes are skipped. Set 1 for a 2-person group to get redundancy without requiring both.
Maximum rejections allowed	The rejection threshold. Once exceeded, the group rejects and remaining votes are skipped.
Depends on	An optional dependency on another group, so stages run in sequence. For example: Security Review depends on EA Approval — security only starts after EA has passed. Leave as No dependency to start all Groups immediately.

Use Add Group to chain additional approval stages. When done, click Save (use Back to return to the fields step).

Your new template is now available in the Decide on → Select a Decision Template picker when anyone creates a Decision for example within an initiative.

4. FAQ

Do I have to create User Groups before a Template? Yes, it's strongly recommended. The approval step of a Template assigns reviewers by group, so having your groups ready makes setup straightforward. You can create groups at any time and revisit a Template to add them.

What does the "Field description" actually do? Two things: it tells your team what each section should contain, and it's the instruction the AI uses to auto-draft that section. Treat it like a prompt or an instruction to a new colleague - specific descriptions produce better drafts.

What does "Required" do? A required field must be filled before a Decision can be submitted for approval. Required fields appear with a red asterisk to the decision author.

What's "first-to-threshold" and why does it matter? A group's outcome is decided as soon as it hits either its approval or rejection threshold - remaining members' votes are then skipped. It keeps approvals fast: a 2-person group set to "1 approval needed" passes as soon as one member approves.

How do I make one approval stage happen after another? In the approval step, set a group's Depends on to the earlier group. The dependent stage stays Upcoming until the group it depends on completes.

Can I have more than two approval stages? Yes - use Add Group to add as many groups and stages as you need, each with its own thresholds and optional dependency.

If I edit a Template, does it affect existing Decisions? No. Templates are versioned, and a Decision is pinned to the version it was created from. Editing a Template creates a new version for future Decisions only.

Who can configure Decision Templates and User Groups? Organization admin access is required.