A one-page decision memo should explain the action, the evidence and the remaining conditions. Attach the workbook rather than replacing the recommendation with it.
Include:
- Recommendation: retain, add, replace, consolidate, build or buy nothing.
- Scope: exact package, users, entities, competitions and seasons.
- Baseline and alternatives: what was compared and why.
- Gate result: Pass/Hold/Fail, approvers and unresolved conditions.
- Score: total, criterion weaknesses and sensitivity.
- Contribution: supported questions answered and what was genuinely additional.
- Loss register: capabilities relinquished and accepted consequences.
- Cost: cash commitment, internal capacity and contract-term exposure.
- Implementation: owner, dependencies, operational date and fallback.
- Acceptance and review: what must be demonstrated before rollout and when usefulness will be reassessed.
Treat “retain the current stack” and “buy nothing” as valid outcomes. Do not convert useful trial results into predictions of transfer profit, player success or guaranteed sporting improvement.
For publication or independent advisory work, disclose relevant supplier relationships and keep commercial introductions separate from evaluation. Publish named comparative results only where the evidence and required permissions support publication.