**DECISIONGATE.ORG**

DG-STD-v3.0  ·  Open Standard  ·  Free to Use

**DECISION GATE**

Application Guide

*A single act. Four questions. One owner. The moment responsibility enters the system.*

# **What is Decision Gate?**

Decision Gate is a deliberate pause before action — a structured moment where a decision is made **consciously**, with clear **ownership** and a visible **record**.

It is not a process, methodology, or framework. It is a decision act — the moment you ask: should we actually do this? — and name the person responsible for the answer.

| **DECISION GATE IS NOT** Backlog refinement or sprint planning A review or approval meeting Managerial consent (verbal or email) A compliance checklist Bureaucracy | **DECISION GATE IS** A conscious decision act before action Named ownership of an outcome A logged, dated, attributed record The question: "should we do this?" The pause that restores responsibility |
| --- | --- |

***If a decision has impact — it requires a gate.***

# **When to Apply It**

Trigger a Decision Gate when any of the following is true:

- The decision affects other people (users, customers, employees)

- The decision consumes significant time or money

- The decision is difficult or costly to reverse (Reversibility Index 3 or above)

- The decision scales beyond a single team

- The decision involves automation or AI

- The decision changes user, customer, or employee reality

# **The Four Gate Questions**

Every full gate requires clear, specific answers to all four questions. Any unanswered question closes the gate.

## **Q1 — Why?**

- What specific problem are we solving?

- What is the evidence this is the right problem now?

- What happens if we do nothing?

## **Q2 — For whom?**

- Who benefits, and in what concrete way?

- Who may be negatively affected?

- Who has no voice in this decision?

## **Q3 — What are the consequences?**

- What is the worst realistic outcome?

- Reversibility Index: rate 1–5.

- What are the second-order effects?

## **Q4 — Who takes responsibility?**

- Name the owner explicitly — not a role.

- If no one accepts ownership, close the gate.

- The owner signs the Decision Log entry.

*Ambiguity is not an acceptable answer — it is a signal to pause.*

# **Reversibility Index**

Rate every decision before the gate. Decisions rated 1–2 may use the Fast Track Gate. Rated 3–5 always require a full gate.

| **1** | Fully reversible at negligible cost |
| --- | --- |
| **2** | Reversible at minor cost or effort |
| **3** | Reversible but requires significant effort or cost |
| **4** | Largely irreversible; partial reversal possible |
| **5** | Irreversible with significant long-term consequences |

# **Gate Outcomes**

Every gate produces exactly one outcome. There is no partial gate.

| **GO** | **PROCEED** | All conditions met. Owner named and logged. Execution may begin. |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **CHANGE** | **ADJUST FIRST** | Decision has merit but requires modification. Return to the gate. |
| **PAUSE** | **WAIT FOR CLARITY** | Insufficient information. Define what is missing. Set a return date. |
| **KILL** | **STOP COMPLETELY** | This decision should not be made. Resources released. Path closed. |

# **Decision Flow**

A full gate follows these steps in order:

- Name the decision explicitly.

- Assign the Reversibility Index (1–5).

- Answer all four gate questions with specificity.

- Assess alternatives, including doing nothing.

- Assign the Decision Owner by name.

- Produce exactly one gate outcome.

- Record the decision in the Decision Log.

# **Decision Log**

Every gate — including Fast Track — requires a Decision Log entry. A decision without a log entry is treated as a decision not made.

| **FIELD** | **REQUIRED** | **NOTES** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Decision name | Yes | A clear, specific description of what was decided. |
| Date | Yes | The date the gate was passed. |
| Decision Owner | Yes | Full name — not a role or team. |
| Reversibility Index | Yes | 1–5 with brief justification. |
| Gate outcome | Yes | GO / CHANGE / PAUSE / KILL |
| Rationale | Yes | Brief summary of why this outcome was reached. |
| Conditions | If applicable | Conditions attached to a GO or CHANGE outcome. |

# **Fast Track Gate**

Decisions with Reversibility Index 1–2 may use a simplified gate. A Decision Log entry is still required.

**Two questions only:**

- Who is the named Decision Owner?

- What is the worst realistic outcome if this decision fails?

*Fast Track does not apply to decisions affecting more than one team or involving AI deployment.*

# **AI Gate**

Decision Gate is **mandatory** before deploying any AI system whose decisions carry significant consequences. Responsibility cannot be delegated to a model, a vendor, or a system.

## **Critical — gate cannot pass without these**

| **CRITICAL** | **No named human decision owner** A named individual must accept accountability for every significant outcome. |
| --- | --- |
| **CRITICAL** | **Decision is non-reversible or non-compensable** If the AI cannot be corrected, compensated, or appealed, this must be evaluated at the gate. |
| **CRITICAL** | **Decision invisible to the person it affects** If the person cannot see or understand the AI's decision, explicit ethical justification is required. |

## **High — required before proceeding**

| **HIGH** | **No human override path exists** A human must be able to intervene, override, or stop the AI at every critical decision point. |
| --- | --- |
| **HIGH** | **No adversarial or bias testing completed** The system must be tested against edge cases, adversarial inputs, and demographic subgroups. |
| **HIGH** | **Training data undocumented** Data provenance, known biases, and exclusions must be documented and accessible. |

# **Open Standard Principles**

Decision Gate is not a product, a certification program, or a commercial offering.

| **FREE** | Any individual, team, or organization may apply Decision Gate without restriction, payment, or permission. Forever. |
| --- | --- |
| **OPEN** | The standard cannot be commercialized, locked behind a paywall, or controlled by any single organization. |
| **CITE** | May be cited in publications, taught in courses, translated, and adapted — provided its meaning and intent are preserved. |
| **CREDIT** | Attribution is not required. But if Decision Gate improves how your organization decides, share where it came from. |

***“Decision Gate does not end decision-making. Decision Gate begins responsibility.”***

decisiongate.org  

DG-STD-v3.0  ·  decisiongate.org  ·  Open Standard  ·  Free to Use  ·  Page   of