Decision-making series · Part 2 of 6
The six questions every corporate decision must answer
21 October 2026 · 5 min read · DecixionIQ
There are dozens of decision-making tools, but they fall into six families. Each family answers one central question. A material decision is only well made when all six questions have an answer — and when the answer is written down.
Use the six questions as a test for any board paper or investment case. If one of them has no answer, that is where the decision is weakest.
1. Problem identification and diagnosis
Are we solving the correct problem?
Typical tools: Root cause analysis, the Five Whys, fishbone diagrams, systems thinking and issue trees.
What the record should show: The exact question being decided, what is out of scope, and the cause the decision is meant to address.
2. Critical thinking and evidence assessment
What evidence supports or contradicts our conclusions?
Typical tools: Hypothesis testing, Bayesian reasoning, first-principles thinking, devil's advocacy and red teaming.
What the record should show: Each piece of evidence with its source, the assumptions the case depends on, and the strongest argument against the recommendation.
3. Alternative evaluation and selection
Which option delivers the strongest risk-adjusted value?
Typical tools: Cost-benefit analysis, net present value, decision trees, multi-criteria decision analysis, expected utility and real options.
What the record should show: The alternatives genuinely considered — including doing nothing — and why the preferred one was chosen.
4. Governance and decision authority
Who is authorised to decide, and under what conditions?
Typical tools: Delegation of authority, RAPID, board reserved matters, committee mandates and approval matrices.
What the record should show: Who was required to approve, who actually approved, any conflicts declared and recusals, and the conditions attached.
5. Implementation and accountability
Who will execute the decision, by when, and with what resources?
Typical tools: RACI, OKRs, Stage-Gate, project governance and benefits realisation management.
What the record should show: Named owners, due dates and status for each action that follows the decision.
6. Monitoring and organisational learning
Did the decision produce its intended outcome, and what have we learned?
Typical tools: PDCA, after-action reviews, decision journals, outcome reviews and performance measurement.
What the record should show: What was expected at approval, what actually happened, and the lessons for the next similar decision.
Why the order matters
The families follow the life of a decision. Teams often jump straight to the third question — comparing options — because that is where the spreadsheets are. But an excellent evaluation of the wrong problem is still the wrong decision, and an excellent decision nobody was authorised to take can be challenged. The last two questions are the ones most often skipped: once a decision is approved, attention moves on, and nobody checks whether it worked.
Part 3 turns these six questions into a six-stage process, where the lessons from the last stage feed the next decision.
Where DecixionIQ fits
In DecixionIQ, each of these questions has its own place in the decision record: the framed question and scope, evidence with its sources, assumptions, alternatives and risks, the challenge, the approval with the authority that gave it, the actions that follow, and the outcome review against what was approved.
Sources and further reading
- Rogers & Blenko — Who Has the D?, Harvard Business Review (2006)
- The W. Edwards Deming Institute — PDSA cycle
- Stage-Gate International — The Stage-Gate model: an overview
- Companies Act 71 of 2008 (consolidated), SAFLII
General information, not legal or professional advice.