Decision rights framework
A decision rights framework your team will actually use
Know who decides what, up to what limit, and where it goes next. Write the framework with the examples below, then run it in Nova, where decision rights are part of every project: who leads, who gives input, who makes each key decision and who has to approve.
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- A decision rights table you can copy today
- A lead for every project and every session
- Key decision makers and approvals on the steps that need them
- Every decision saved in the project's decision log
What changes this week
Clear decision rights pay off the first time something gets stuck.
Decisions stop waiting for the CEO
Each type of decision has one decider and a limit. Below the limit, nobody needs to ask permission.
Nothing gets decided twice
When everyone knows whose call it is, two people stop making the same decision in different directions.
Every decision has a record
What was decided, by whom and why lands in the decision log, so settled questions stay settled.
Leaders get their time back
Fewer escalations reach the top. Leaders spend their time on the few decisions only they can make.
How to build a decision rights framework
When nobody knows who decides, decisions wait in the CEO's inbox or get made twice by two people who both thought it was theirs. A decision rights framework fixes that with one table: for each type of decision that comes up again and again, who decides, who gives input, who just needs to know, and up to what limit.
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List the decisions that keep coming back
Go through the last three months of meetings, chats and your decision log. Write down every decision that needed an approval or got escalated: pricing exceptions, hiring, spend, launch dates, policy changes, client commitments. Most companies end up with 15 to 25.
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Sort them by how hard they are to undo
Decisions that are easy to reverse should be made fast and close to the work. Decisions that are hard to reverse deserve more input and a more senior decider.
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Push each decision to the lowest level that has the information
The person closest to the customer or the work usually knows most. Give them the decision, with a limit. Above the limit, it goes up one level, not straight to the top.
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Write one row per decision
Four columns are enough: Decides (one name or role, never a group), Consulted, Informed and Limit and escalation.
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Decide where AI fits
Agree which decisions AI can prepare (options, data, a draft recommendation) and which a person must make. Approvals, priorities, budgets and anything about people stay human.
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Publish it and use it in your meetings
Share it in the next all-hands. In the monthly business review, when an item is stuck on a decision, check the table: if the decider is in the room, they decide now.
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Review it every quarter
Look for rows that were escalated often (the limit may be too low) and rows nobody used. Change them, log the change and tell the team.
Decision rights template with examples
Copy this table into a document and replace the rows with your own decisions.
| Decision | Decides | Consulted | Informed | Limit and escalation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing exception | Head of sales | Finance | CEO | Up to 15% off. Above that, the CEO. |
| Hire within the approved budget | Department head | People team | Leadership team | New roles outside the budget go to the CEO. |
| Unplanned spend | Budget owner | Finance | Department head | Up to $5,000. Above that, the CFO. |
| Launch date | Product lead | Sales, support, marketing | Whole company | A move of more than two weeks goes to the business review. |
| Client scope change | Account lead | Delivery lead | Client sponsor | Up to five extra days. Above that, a change order. |
| Company policy change | Leadership team | Affected teams | Whole company | Announced in the all-hands, logged in the decision log. |
Unplanned spendOne row of the table, as a path
- Up to $5,000Budget ownerDecides, and tells the department head
- $5,000 to $50,000CFODecides after a finance review
- Outside the annual budgetCEODecides with the leadership team
- Changes the annual planThe boardApproves it at the next meeting
RACI, RAPID, DACI or a simple table?
The well-known frameworks all answer "who decides" with slightly different roles. Pick the simplest one your team will remember.
| Framework | Roles | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| RACI | Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed | Who does what in a project or a process |
| RAPID | Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input, Decide | Large decisions across several functions |
| DACI | Driver, Approver, Contributors, Informed | Project decisions with one clear approver |
| Decision rights table | Decides, Consulted, Informed, Limit | Recurring company decisions, with limits and escalation |
Decision rights are built into every Nova project
There's nothing to install and no separate table to keep up to date. Every project in Nova, whether it's a client account, an initiative or a strategy, sets out who leads, who gives input and who decides, at three levels. So the people doing the work always know whose call it is.
One project lead
The person who answers for the outcome: the client account, the initiative or the strategy. Everyone on the project can see who it is.
A lead and collaborators
Every session has someone who runs it and the collaborators whose input it needs. The people you would consult are part of the session before the call is made.
Key decision makers
When a step needs a decision, you assign the person who makes it, with a due date. The work waits for that call instead of drifting.
Approvals that follow how your company decides
Some steps need a sign-off before the work moves on. In Nova, an approval on a step can wait for:
From your framework to Nova
| In your framework | In Nova |
|---|---|
| Who owns the outcome | The project lead |
| Decides | The key decision maker on the step, or the approver |
| Consulted | Collaborators in the session before the call |
| Informed | The project team, who see the outcome in the project's decision log |
| Limit and escalation | An approval chain: above the limit, the next level approves |
Every decision is saved, with how you got there
When a session ends with a conclusion, or an approval is given, it's saved in the project's decision log with who made it and when. The session keeps the steps, inputs and options that led to it, so anyone can see not only what was decided but why. See how the decision log works.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a decision rights template in Nova?
No, and you don't need one. Decision rights are part of every Nova project: a project lead, a lead and collaborators for each session, key decision makers on the steps that need them, and approvals for one person, several people or a chain by level. Use the framework on this page to decide who should hold each role, then set it in your projects.
What are decision rights?
Decision rights say who can make a type of decision, who has to be consulted, who is informed afterwards, and up to what limit. Above the limit, the decision goes to the next level.
What is the difference between RACI and a decision rights framework?
RACI assigns roles for tasks and projects: who does the work, who is accountable, who is consulted and who is informed. A decision rights framework assigns who decides each recurring type of decision, with limits and an escalation path. Many teams use a short version of both.
How many levels of escalation should a decision have?
Two or three are enough for most decisions: the person closest to the work, their manager or a functional leader, and the CEO. Only decisions that change the plan or the budget should reach the board.
Who should own the decision rights framework?
The CEO or chief of staff owns the table, and the leadership team agrees it. Review it every quarter: look for decisions that were escalated often and rows nobody used.
See it working
See it on your own decisions in 30 minutes
Bring one project or one recurring decision. We'll show you how it runs in Nova, and you'll leave knowing exactly how your team would use it.
No time to set it up? Ask about Done-With-You Implementation.
- Your use case, set upA project like yours, with a project lead, session leads and the people who decide.
- Decisions and approvalsHow a key decision is assigned, how approvals move from one person or level to the next.
- The decision logWhat gets saved, who added it and when, and how to filter and search it months later.
- Your rollout planThe first two weeks: which project to start with and the Monday and Friday habit.
Keep going
Make every decision the right person's call
See decision rights and the decision log on your own projects in a 30-minute demo, or start free today.