Stakeholder Sign-offs & Reaching Decisions

Once evaluating options is complete in a project, arriving at the correct outcome is only half the battle. Communicating the decision, storing the rationale, and getting the necessary buy-in from key stakeholders is critical to ensuring the decision turns into action.

Axiom handles this critical final step securely through the Decision tab in your project interface.

1. Proposing the Decision

To formally conclude a decision using Axiom, the project manager synthesizes the quantitative and qualitative data gathered during the Evaluate phase.

1. Navigate to the Decision tab in your project.
2. Select the Winning Outcome: You can select from the top-scoring options presented visually, or choose from the dropdown to select lower-ranked options (or even "None of the above" if the project is being abandoned).
3. Draft the Decision Rationale: In the provided editor, detail why this option was chosen. Mention any key trade-offs considered, referencing specific sensitivity analyses or score comparisons from the Evaluation step.
4. Click Propose Decision (if your project has stakeholders assigned) or Lock & Log Decision (if there are no stakeholders).

Note: You can use the Leaderboard panel on the right side of the screen to quickly remember how options ranked during the Evaluate phase.

2. Collecting Sign-Offs

Major decisions require formal alignment to prevent later disputes. If you assigned users the stakeholder role in your project, the decision cannot be finalized until they provide their endorsement.

Once the decision is proposed, the project enters a Resolved / Proposed Outcome state. During this state:

• The Selected Outcome and Rationale are locked and permanently visible.
• The interface displays a "Stakeholder Sign-offs" grid clearly delineating who has signed off and who is still pending.

Stakeholders are then responsible for endorsing the outcome:

1. An assigned stakeholder navigates to the Decision tab.
2. They review the written Rationale and Selected Outcome, referencing the project's Activity Log or the underlying Matrix if they wish to audit the logic.
3. Once satisfied, the stakeholder clicks the Endorse Decision button.
4. Their status in the grid updates in real-time from Pending to Endorsed (with a timestamp).

3. Decision Finalized

When all assigned stakeholders have endorsed the decision, the project officially becomes Decision Finalized.

If at any point before finalization (or even after) you realize a mistake was made or new information arises, a project manager can click Reopen Project to return it to the evaluating state and modify the outcome.