The decision memorandum, as a blank template.
The format my conclusions arrive in, empty. Use it for your own consequential decisions; a decision that cannot survive this structure is not ready to be made. The worked sample shows the standard each section is held to.
1 The questionOne sentence, decidable, with the commitment and the counterparty named. If it takes three sentences, it is three decisions.
2 Evidence reviewedWhat was actually examined — documents, data, systems, interviews — specific enough that someone else could pull the same set.
3 Material assumptionsWhat the conclusion rests on that was not independently verified, each stated so it could be checked later.
4 FindingsWhat the evidence supports. Facts separated from inference; each finding traceable to section 2.
5 UnknownsWhat could not be established, and what it would take to know. An empty section here is a red flag, not a clean bill.
6 ImplicationsWhat the findings mean in money, time, and obligation — for the people responsible for the decision.
7 ConclusionOne of four verdicts — proceed · do not proceed · proceed only if… · more evidence required — and a signature. The signature is the point: someone is accountable for this document being right.
Free to use and adapt. If the decision is consequential enough that you want the sections filled in independently, that is the Executive Decision Review.