Decision Pipeline¶
Contents¶
Introduction¶
The Decision Pipeline is a mechanism for representing the progress of all member-level decisions from early-stage refinement work through to acceptance or rejection by the Membership.
The Decision Pipeline consists of three linked components:
An agile board that tracks individual decisions as tickets through each stage of their lifecycle. The agile board will be a best efforts representation of the Decision Pipeline at any one time, and act as a common co-ordination mechanism for many of the tasks and activities that go into making decisions happen.
A reciprocal agreement that decision facilitators will provide regular updates on the progress and substance of decisions, while Members will stay up-to-date with progress and engage with the substance of decisions when needed.
A conceptual framework that describes how decisions progress, comprising decision statuses, roles and responsibilities, and tasks and activities.
Principles¶
The Decision Pipeline is based on the following principles:
The Decision Pipeline is opinionated and prescriptive about a small number of things:
Ensuring that decisions in progress are visible.
Standardising how the progress of decisions is represented and updated.
Naming and assigning responsibilities and expectations.
The Decision Pipeline is unopinionated and flexible about a larger number of things, including:
How work on decisions is organised and progressed.
How decisions are made.
How proposals are presented to members.
At the same time, the Decision Pipeline provides a conceptual framework for understanding decision-making as it is currently practised and for changing those practices in the future. It does this by:
Representing the activities that go into shaping, progressing and resolving a decision.
Documenting a lack of standardisation, documentation or agreement where appropriate.
Building in review and revision of the product, processes and activities.
How to use the decision pipeline¶
People will engage with the decision pipeline in different ways depending on their role. An individual may have multiple roles at the same time.
As a Member¶
Note
The average time commitment per fortnight is estimated at 10-45 minutes reading asynchronous updates before the meeting and 15-30 minutes of meeting time.
This is variable but the visibility provided by the decision pipeline also means that demands on members’ time are somewhat predictable, and that decisions can be scheduled and prioritised when capacity is tight.
As a Member you have two main responsibilities:
Staying up-to-date¶
As a Member you should stay up-to-date with individual decisions and the state of the decision pipeline. This includes reading updates and relevant background material before meetings and being aware of upcoming decision dates and deadlines.
This responsibility is fulfilled via the following tasks:
Participating in decision-making¶
As a Member of the co-op you should actively participate in decisions, including exercising independent judgement as a Director of the co-op and recognising where your skills, opinions or judgement would be valuable to shaping a decision.
This responsibility is fulfilled via the following tasks:
As a decision facilitator¶
Note
A decision facilitator may be a member or employee. The average time commitment additional to this role is estimated at 5-15 minutes per decision per fortnight for communication.
As a decision facilitator you have overall responsibility for moving a decision through the decision pipeline. You act as a point of contact for the work of a decision team and may be a member of that decision team. You will not necessarily be responsible for implementing a decision.
Responsibilities¶
As a decision facilitator you have three main responsibilities:
Communicating regularly¶
As a decision facilitator you should communicate clearly and regularly on the progress of a decision, including providing asynchronous updates in advance of meetings.
This responsibility is fulfilled via the following tasks:
Progressing the decision¶
As a decision facilitator you should co-ordinate the practical work of moving a decision forward, including scheduling decision-making processes and documenting wrap up steps. You should take steps to withdraw a decision from the pipeline where appropriate.
This responsibility is fulfilled via the following tasks:
Shaping a proposal and building understanding¶
As a decision facilitator you should ensure that any proposal is well-thought through, that Members are able to make an informed decision and that you have made efforts to build support, understanding and engagement. This work should be proportionate to the impact of the decision.
This responsibility is fulfilled via the following tasks:
As a decision team member¶
As a stakeholder¶
As an employee¶
As the decision portfolio manager¶
As the decision portfolio manager you have three responsibilities:
Ensuring that the decision pipeline is accurate and up-to-date¶
Facilitating and advising on the process¶
Providing assurance around engagement, communication and transparency¶
As the product manager¶
The product manager role is held by a single named individual.
Responsibilities¶
As the product manager you have three responsibilities:
Maintaining reference documentation for current version of the Decision Pipeline¶
Creating space for ongoing and periodic reflection and feedback on the Decision Pipeline¶
Updating products, processes, activities and associated documentation to meet business needs¶
Decision Pipeline¶
Decision ticket¶
Each planned or ongoing decision should be represented by a Plan.io ticket. The usage of the ticket’s fields and custom fields are outlined in the table below. Where usage varies depending on the stage in the decision pipeline, a detailed description is provided in the Decision Pipeline documentation and this is noted in the table.
All fields listed below are REQUIRED unless stated otherwise.
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
Subject |
A short and up-to-date representation of the decision. |
Status |
A description of where the decision is in the decision pipeline, chosen from available decision statuses. |
Parent Ticket |
Main ticket ID where the work to advance the decision is happening. |
Decision Link |
A link to the ticket or poll where the decision is taking place. |
Description |
Emerging decisions or simple decisions at any stage of the pipeline may provide a decision summary in the description field. |
Decision Summary |
A link to a document containing a decision summary. |
Assignee |
The individual or group being notified of the latest update. |
Due Date |
The estimated date that a decision is expected to begin. |
Decision Start Date |
The date that a decision is scheduled to begin. (Scheduled decisions only.) |
Decision End Date |
The date that a decision is scheduled to end. (Scheduled decisions only.) |
Decision Facilitator |
The individual responsible for the decision facilitator role. |
Decision Team |
All members of the decision team. |
Decision Type |
The type of decision-making process that is planned. |
Event (optional) |
The event where the decision is planned to take place, e.g. June 2022 OGM. |
Team Coordination Ticket |
The ticket where the work of progressing the ticket is happening. |
External Communication Ticket |
The ticket where any communication with people outside the decision team is happening |
Decision summary¶
Warning
There is no standardised way of providing members with proposals or supporting information. The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
A decision summary will vary depending on the complexity and impact of the decision. Small decisions may require only a paragraph or so of text. Larger decisions may require a paper for members, with supporting information in various formats.
A decision summary may require some or all of the components listed below.
Component |
Description |
|---|---|
Proposal text |
The text of a decision that Members will vote on, as currently understood by the decision team. |
Drivers or rationale |
A summary of why a particular decision is needed. Describing this in terms of organisational drivers can be a useful technique. |
Outcomes and benefits |
What is expected to result from the decision. |
Supporting information |
Information that allows Members to make an informed decision. This may vary in format depending on the nature of the decision, e.g. a budget, an appendix of technical options, a report of market conditions. |
Outputs |
A high-level summary of outputs or products, i.e. authorisation of projects with deliverables. |
Budget |
An outline budget for a decision with cost or capacity implications. |
Deadlines |
Any internal or external deadlines for the decision. |
Dependencies |
Any internal or external dependencies that have been identified. |
Decision statuses and workflows¶
Emerging¶
A emerging decision is a decision that an individual or group predicts will be escalated to the membership. An emerging decision is likely to be an “idea” or “in scoping” and have few implementation details and little supporting documentation.
Guidance on information¶
Decision ticket and Decision summary provide a normative reference on documenting decisions for Members.
The table below is informative guidance on tailoring this information to the stage of the decision. In general, more detailed information is required as a decision progresses through the decision pipeline
Information |
Description |
|---|---|
Decision facilitator |
A decision facilitator is not required for emerging decisions but a single decision facilitator MUST be identified in order for work to progress. |
Decision summary |
A very high-level outline of the predicted decision. This may include a very rough proposal, a summary of the likely benefits and impact and any stakeholders who have been identified in scoping the decision. |
Decision date |
A predicted date when a decision-making process will start. This is important for planning engagement and identifying deadlines. |
Parent issue |
A link to the main ticket where work on the decision is progressing. At the “emerging” stage summary information provided to Members is likely to be limited, so other transparency mechanisms are important. |
Note
Example decision: increasing basic pay
At the emerging stage a decision summary on pay may be as simple as e.g. “Grant employees an inflation-linked pay rise in line with our policy, in light of the material increase in inflation”.
In the first few days after the decision is raised, a decision facilitator is identified and a decision team starts to form. Stakeholders are identified from first principles, e.g. all employees (who will have an opinion on how much they are paid), Finance Group (who will have an opinion on costs), Business Development Group (who will have an opinion on the knock-on effects on pricing).
Guidance on responsibilities¶
Role |
Responsibilities |
|---|---|
Introduce new decisions to members. |
|
Read updated decision summaries and highlighted supporting information in advance of regular meetings. |
|
Identify missing emerging decisions and engage with relevant individuals or groups to get these represented on the decision pipeline. |
Workflows¶
Status |
Description and requirements to progress |
|---|---|
None |
|
If decision has been delegated. |
|
If work on the decision is stopped but not explicitly withdrawn. |
|
if work on the decision is stopped for another reason. |
In draft¶
An in draft decision is a decision that is actively being worked on through shaping a proposal document, identifying and talking to stakeholders and/or preparing supporting documentation.
Guidance on information¶
Decision ticket and Decision summary provide a normative reference on documenting decisions for Members.
The table below is informative guidance on tailoring this information to the stage of the decision. In general, more detailed information is required as a decision progresses through the decision pipeline
Information |
Description |
|---|---|
Decision facilitator |
A single decision facilitator MUST have been identified for all decisions in draft. |
Decision summary |
A high-level outline of the predicted decision, now refined through the drafting process. The description is likely to include a summary of the likely benefits and impact and any stakeholders who have been identified in scoping the decision. It may include a draft proposal. |
Due date |
The predicted date when a decision-making process will start should be updated as this becomes clearer through the drafting process. |
Decision type |
The drafting process should lead to an indication of what type of decision-making process will be appropriate. |
Event |
It may be appropriate to schedule the decision alongside a particular event. The drafting process will reveal how realistic this is. |
Decision team |
The drafting process may lead to the discovery of new skill requirements for the team or lead to interested parties joining the team. |
Parent issue |
A link to the main ticket where work on the decision is progressing. Transparency is important at the “in draft” stage as work may progress quickly, meaning that summary information can become outdated between updates. |
Note
Example decision: increasing basic pay
At the “in draft” stage a decision summary on pay may be start to become more detailed as implementation details are added, an initial proposal drafted, supporting information is gathered and opinions from stakeholders are incorporated.
An “in draft” decision summary for a proposal to increase basic pay may start to look like:
A draft proposal to raise pay by the value of inflation, (defined as CPIH in the month the decision is made).
Some bullet points outlining the drivers for increasing basic pay.
Some bullet points outlining the risks of increasing basic pay and the risks of not acting.
A draft spreadsheet showing the financial impact.
Guidance on responsibilities¶
Role |
Responsibilities |
|---|---|
Provide and keep updated any required information on the decision ticket, including the decision summary. |
|
Read updated decision summaries and highlighted supporting information in advance of regular meetings. |
|
Identify decisions that have moved beyond the “emerging” stage and into “in draft”. |
Workflows¶
Status |
Description and requirements to progress |
|---|---|
Ready for comment (Optional) |
If the decision summary is relatively complete and needs broader feedback and consultation before going to a decision. |
If the decision can be put straight to a decision-making mechanism without wider consultation. |
|
If decision has been delegated. |
|
If work on the decision is stopped but not explicitly withdrawn. |
|
if work on the decision is stopped for another reason. |
Ready for comment¶
Decision scheduled¶
Decision in progress¶
Decision overdue¶
Wrap up¶
Status |
Description |
|---|---|
A decision that is in its scoping phase but that an individual or group predicts will be escalated to the membership. |
|
A decision that is actively being worked on, through shaping a proposal document, identifying and talking to stakeholders and/or preparing supporting documentation. |
|
Ready for comment (Optional) |
A decision where relevant proposals and supporting documents are ready for comment and review outside the facilitatoring group. This is an optional stage, used only for complex or significant decisions. |
A decision for which a time and date has been set (e.g. at a Friday meeting or OGM) or that is scheduled to begin at a particular time (e.g. an asynchronous poll). |
|
A decision that is open for members to decide asynchronously. |
|
A decision that is in progress and is past its deadline. |
|
A decision that has been decided and is in the wrap up phase before moving to a closed status. |
Status |
Description |
|---|---|
A decision accepted as a result of a decision-making process. |
|
A decision rejected as a result of a decision-making process. |
|
A decision that is not being actively progressed by a decision facilitator or decision team but that has not gone through a decision-making process or been withdrawn by the decision facilitator. |
|
A decision for which a smaller group or individual has been chosen to make the decision on behalf of all members. |
|
A decision on which work has stopped for a reason other than completion, pausing or delegation. |
Pipeline review¶
Structure¶
Guidance¶
New decisions should be introduced via a structured agenda item when they first appear, to allow for early feedback.
Decision facilitators or any employee/member may request an agenda item on a particular decision if needed to identify steps to advance (or delegate) a decision.
Decision-making processes¶
Consent decision¶
Meeting of the Board of Directors¶
A decision resolved by a majority vote at a Meeting of the Board of Directors as specified in article 101 of the company rules, subject to the conditions on quoracy (article 105) and the meeting being called with reasonable notice (article 98).
Ordinary Resolution¶
Written Resolution¶
A written resolution circulated to all Directors, as specified in Article 102 of the company rules.
A representation of all planned and current decisions that the whole membership must make or choose to delegate, place on hold or withdraw.
The pipeline is a Plan.io project with an associated Agile Board. Each potential decision is represented by a single ticket.
The pipeline shows the progress of a decision from early-stage refinement work through to acceptance or rejection by the membership.
Agreements¶
The decision pipeline process is held together by a set of reciprocal agreements.
Assurance agreement¶
Word
Communication and transparency agreement¶
Decision facilitators and decisions teams agree:
To be transparent about upcoming decisions.
To make their work and supporting information accessible whenever possible.
To communicate clearly and regularly with the co-op.
Engagement agreement¶
Members agree:
To engage with decisions on the agreed schedules.
To read updates and supporting information provided by decision facilitators.
To be prepared for meetings and/or decisions when updates and materials have been circulated in advance.
To provide feedback, advice and engagement on emerging decisions when requested.
To give decision teams autonomy to work and to delegate decisions if a member-level is not needed.
Tasks and activities¶
Attending the pipeline review meeting¶
The pipeline review meeting is a section of the fortnightly co-op meeting in which the decision pipeline is reviewed, key changes are highlighted, any queries raised, and issues and actions are identified. Decisions may also be scheduled, rescheduled withdrawn, put on hold or delegated.
Structure¶
The pipeline review will consist of a review of the Agile board review and a structured agenda.
The Agile board review will allow members and employees to ask any clarifying questions arising from asynchronous updates or the board state.
The structured agenda will allow for more focused discussion of particular decisions.
Roles and responsibilities¶
Members¶
Members should:
Prepare for the pipeline review by reading asynchronous updates in advance (and any supporting materials as requested).
Suggest agenda items in advance of the pipeline review if appropriate.
See also
Decision facilitators¶
Decision facilitators should:
Ensure that another decision team member can deputise if they are unable to attend the pipeline review.
Provide updates to Members in advance of the meeting (and request review of supporting materials if appropriate).
Request an agenda item for a new decision, or for a decision that needs particular attention.
Decision portfolio manager¶
The decision portfolio manager should:
Chair the pipeline review meeting, including identifying relevant actions and responsibilities.
Manage the agenda, including identifying items from the pipeline for discussion with decision facilitators.
Check that attendees have read any updates provided before the meeting.
Coordinating progress on a decision¶
Warning
There is no standardised way of coordinating the work of a decision team, input from members and the preparation of information to support decision-making.
The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
Decision facilitators may wish to consider:
Establishing regular check-ins with the decision team.
Establishing ownership of relevant documents and tasks.
Setting internal deadlines for tasks.
Communicating regularly with those outside the decision team about when and how they will need input and feedback.
If and how the decision team would benefit from external resources and/or advice to progress a decision.
Creating spaces for education and feedback¶
Warning
There is no standardised way of engaging with members to inform them about the substance of decisions or to gather wider needs and incorporate feedback. The following information is offered as guidance.
The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
Decision facilitators may consider:
Adding an agenda item to the pipeline review for a newly identified emerging decision, in order to introduce members to the idea, identify potential interest decision team members and to gather rapid feedback.
Facilitating a session to discover stakeholders or key user needs.
Doing a quick show-and-tell of work-in-progress proposals or supporting information.
Having an open session during co-working.
Temperature check polls.
Arranging drop-in sessions to answer questions.
Creating and maintaining an FAQ.
Delegating a decision¶
Recording that a decision has been delegated¶
Update the decision ticket with a record of who the decision has been delegated to and how and when the decision to delegate was made.
Add the ticket where the delegated decision-making is taking place as a linked issue.
Set the status of the decision to ‘Delegated’.
Note that “Delegated” is a closed issue status so no further reporting via the decision pipeline should be expected.
Warning
There is no shared understanding on if and when a decision should be delegated and no standardised way of delegating decisions from the Membership as a whole. The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
How to delegate¶
Members¶
Members may wish to consider:
If any conditions on delegation are appropriate.
If any reporting to Members is expected.
How they expect to be involved in a delegated decision.
Decision facilitators¶
Decision facilitators and teams may wish to consider:
The conditions under which they might need to revert to Members.
How they will communicate the progress and conclusion of a delegated decision.
Which activities described in the decision pipeline documentation will be necessary even if the final decision is delegated.
When to delegate¶
Members may wish to consider:
Whether the expertise and interest in a particular decision is concentrated in a small group.
Whether delegating to a smaller group or retaining decision-making with the entire membership is proportionate to the impact of the decision.
Whether careful delegation to a smaller group can retain the desirable features of participative decision-making.
META: Documenting the Decision Pipeline¶
The reference documentation for the Decision Pipeline is this repository.
Documentation should:
Reflect practice not theory, and should be updated if the two start to diverge.
Avoid false certainty.
Be explicit about the absence of standardised practices or agreements.
Be versioned.
Not be used to make changes without communicating those changes.
See also
Identifying a member-level decision¶
Warning
There is no standardised way of identifying a decision that should or will be taken by the whole Membership. The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
Joining a decision team¶
How to join a decision team¶
Inform the decision facilitator or another decision team member.
Add yourself to the Decision Team field of the decision ticket.
When to join a decision team¶
Warning
There is no standardised way of identifying when it is appropriate to join a decision team or of describing the role and responsibilities. The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
Any Member or employee of the co-op may join a decision team, at any point in the decision process, if they wish to do so.
Joining a decision may be particularly appropriate if you:
Have a particular interest in a decision; or,
Hold a strong opinion on the outcome of a decision; or,
Have skills, experiences or that would lead to a better decision; or,
Have the capacity to work on shaping a decision; or,
Want to gain experience of decision-making and consensus-building processes.
Joining a decision team means that you will take an active and responsible role in a particular decision (see How to use the decision pipeline as decision team member).
If you just want input into a decision then a stakeholder role may be more appropriate.
Monitoring the decision pipeline¶
Participating in decision-making processes¶
Warning
The Decision Pipeline provides transparency about the status of decisions, it is agnostic about which decision-making processes are used and how these are followed. The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
Participating in decision-making processes (e.g. a consent process or vote on a written resolution) by the agreed deadline.
Providing decision-ready information to Members¶
Warning
There is no standardised way of providing members with proposals or supporting information. The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
Info
Providing feedback on decisions¶
Warning
There is no agreed level of engagement required from Members in decision-making other than that provided for in our Company Rules. The Decision Pipeline is predicated on an agreement that Members will engage with the substance of decisions when asked to do so but is not prescriptive about what this means. The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
Providing asynchronous feedback on decisions at the appropriate stage. Decisions at this stage will have a specific status in the pipeline.
Providing updates on decision progress¶
Warning
Much of the Decision Pipeline documentation can be considered as guidance or as a framework for visualising how decision-making happens.
The sections on providing and engaging with updates are much more prescriptive. The agreement that transparency will be reciprocated with timely engagement is an implicit principle of collective management and is built into the design of the decision pipeline.
Sending regular and timely updates on decision progress is important for building awareness, strengthening democratic member control and holding effective meetings.
Sending regular updates¶
Decision facilitators MUST:
Send an update on a decision in advance of every fortnightly team meeting if relevant progress or change needs to be reported, or if requested to do so.
How to provide an update on a decision¶
Update the decision summary and relevant fields in the decision ticket with relevant information.
Add an update to the relevant decision ticket that describes the changes, including pointers to any supporting information. Be explicit if members are expected to read the supporting information.
Make sure that the ticket is assigned to Members.
When to send an update¶
Timetable¶
Updates should be sent according to the pipeline review timetable:
Activity |
Time |
|---|---|
Provide updates |
By 10am Thursday before fortnightly meeting. |
Read updates |
By 10am Friday of the fortnightly meeting. |
Pipeline Review |
10.30am Friday approx, depending on agenda. |
Triggers that require a decision update¶
A regular update MUST be issued for a decision if:
The status of the decision has changed.
The substance of the decision has changed.
The planned decision type, event or schedule has changed.
The decision facilitator or team has changed.
There has been material progress on or change to any aspect of the decision summary or supporting information.
An update has been requested by a member.
A regular update should highlight any relevant changes to the decision ticket and decision summary, which members are expected to read. A regular update may also highlight any supporting information that members are required to read.
Recording a decision outcome¶
How to record a decision outcome¶
Check that the “Decision Link” field points to the issue, poll or document heading where a decision was made.
Check that the “Decision End Date” matches the date that the decision was made.
Update the decision ticket to state whether the decision was accepted or rejected, with a description and further details if needed.
Complete all wrap up work.
Update the status to “Accepted” or “Rejected”.
Examining record outcomes¶
Decisions can be queried to create a Decision Register of previous decisions and decisions that were rejected, withdrawn or delegated.
META: Reviewing the Decision Pipeline¶
Scheduling a decision¶
How to schedule a consent decision¶
Establish a date when the decision will take place. Care should be taken to respect the conditions for “reasonable notice” in the company rules.
In the decision ticket, change the status to “Decision Scheduled” and the “Decision Start Date” and the “Decision End Date” to the relevant dates. Remove any due date.
Check that the “decision type” in the issue matches the decision type that is scheduled.
Set “Decision Link” to the relevant issue or poll if this exists, or do so when the issue or poll is created.
When to schedule a decision¶
Warning
There is no standard approach to scheduling decisions.
The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
Decision facilitators may wish to consider:
Whether a decision would benefit from a rapid cycle of testing via a consent process or whether a decision needs a longer process of consent-building, education and refinement.
Whether a decision is “approaching consensus” and would therefore benefit from being tested by a decision-making process.
Pre-scheduling decisions¶
The “Event” field can be used to pre-schedule a decision for a particular event, e.g. an OGM. This is useful if an important decision is in-progress and expected to be ready for a particular event.
Shaping a decision¶
Warning
There is no standardised way of progressing a decision from an idea to a proposal or to consensus. The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
words
Staying up-to-date with decisions¶
Warning
Much of the Decision Pipeline documentation can be considered as guidance or as a framework for visualising how decision-making happens.
The sections on providing and engaging with updates are much more prescriptive. The agreement that transparency will be reciprocated with timely engagement is an implicit principle of collective management and is built into the design of the decision pipeline.
Reading updates on decision progress is important for progressing decisions, strengthening democratic member control and holding effective meetings. It is expected that members will read updates before the pipeline review meeting, and as requested for decisions that need urgent attention.
Reading regular updates¶
Members MUST:
Read asynchronous updates provided in advance of the fortnightly meeting.
Read any highlighted changes to a decision summary and any specified supporting information.
Note
Example decision update: increasing basic pay
A decision facilitator issues the following update:
We have prepared a budget showing the impact of the proposed pay rise. This information has been added to the decision summary. The full budget is available as optional supporting information.
Members should read the updated decision summary and may choose to read the full budget.
Decision updates: what to expect¶
Updates will be sent according to the pipeline review timetable:
Activity |
Time |
|---|---|
Provide updates |
By 10am Thursday before fortnightly meeting. |
Read updates |
By 10am Friday of the fortnightly meeting. |
Pipeline Review |
10.30am Friday approx, depending on agenda. |
Triggers that require a decision update¶
A regular update MUST be issued for a decision if:
The status of the decision has changed.
The substance of the decision has changed.
The planned decision type, event or schedule has changed.
The decision facilitator or team has changed.
There has been material progress on or change to any aspect of the decision summary or supporting information.
An update has been requested by a member.
A regular update should highlight any relevant changes to the decision ticket and decision summary, which members are expected to read. A regular update may also highlight any supporting information that members are required to read.
META: Updating the Decision Pipeline¶
Withdrawing a decision¶
Warning
There is no shared understanding of when and if a potential decision should be withdrawn. The following information is offered as guidance. The Decision Pipeline includes a regular update process through which individual products, processes and activities may be updated or identified for improvements.
Note
A decision facilitator stopping a decision makes a valuable contribution to the co-op using its time and resources well.
Decision facilitators may wish to consider the following:
Whether significant or unanticipated opposition has emerged in the course of shaping the decision that makes it unlikely the decision will pass in its current form. (Either a total withdrawal or a new decision may be appropriate in this case.)
Whether internal or external circumstances have changed sufficiently to undermine the original logic for the decision.
Whether the assumptions of the decision hold up after shaping the decision and building supporting information.
Whether any better ideas have emerged in the course of developing the decision.
Whether there are more effective uses of the facilitator’s, team’s and Members’ time than pushing through the current decision.
Wrapping up a decision¶
How to wrap up a decision¶
Set the status of the ticket to wrap up.
Record the work that needs to be done to wrap the decision up, either in the decision ticket or separately.
Complete the wrap up work and document that it has been done.
Update the decision ticket and change the status to “Accepted” or “Rejected”.
Identifying wrap up work¶
The outcome of a decision MAY REQUIRE documentation or other information management work, or result in a mandate or initiation of further work,
The decision facilitator MUST complete and document this wrap up phase before the decision is closed in the recording a decision outcome activity.
The decision facilitator SHOULD check and confirm if wrap up is needed in any of the following areas:
Policies
The wiki or other SSOT
Process or technical documentation
Financial forecast
Xero or other third-party software
Terms of employment
Glossary¶
- Assurance¶
An independent assessment of whether a thing has happened or is likely to happen in the manner expected.
- Decision¶
A proposal or request that needs to be accepted or rejected by the membership via a decision-making mechanism.
A decision may be taken by a subset of the membership where delegation has been agreed (e.g. via a Terms of Reference).
- Decision Facilitator¶
An individual responsible for moving a decision through the decision pipeline. A decision facilitator represents the work of a decision team and may be a member of that decision team.
A facilitator is not necessarily responsible for implementing a decision.
- Decision Pipeline¶
A representation of all planned and current decisions that the whole membership must make or choose to delegate, place on hold or withdraw.
The pipeline shows the progress of a decision from early-stage refinement work through to acceptance or rejection by the membership.
- Decision Pipeline Procedures¶
A set of procedures that ensure that all relevant decisions are represented on the decision pipeline, that members can access timely and relevant information, that members know how to engage with decisions, and that decision facilitators can rely on the membership to engage in an appropriate and timely manner.
- Decision Portfolio Manager¶
An individual responsible for scheduling and running the decision pipeline procedures and ensuring that these procedures are followed.
- Decision Register¶
A record of all decisions made, and their results.
- Decision Team¶
A team responsible for shaping a decision, engaging with stakeholders, and creating supporting materials to help members make a decision. There is no minimum or maximum size of a team.
A decision team is not necessarily responsible for implementing a decision
- Decision-making Mechanism¶
A specified procedure through which a decision will be made (e.g. a Consent decision as specified on the wiki or an Ordinary Motion as specified in the Company Rules).
- Member¶
A member of the co-op with rights and reciprocal responsibilities at all stages of the decision process.
- Non-member employee¶
- Employee¶
A non-member employee of the co-op does not directly participate in making decisions but they may participate in the decision-making process in other roles, for example as a stakeholder or decision facilitator.
- Pipeline Review¶
A section of the fortnightly co-op meeting in which the decision pipeline is reviewed, key changes are highlighted, any queries raised, and issues and actions are identified. Decisions may also be scheduled, rescheduled withdrawn, put on hold or delegated.
- Product Manager¶
An individual responsible for maintaining, updating and documenting products and procedures, and ensuring that these meet the needs of the co-op.
- Stakeholder¶
An individual or group that can affect, be affected by, or perceives itself to be affected by, a decision.