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Playbook · Strategy and influence · 8 steps
Getting a decision agreed
Win support for an architecture decision across people you don't manage.
“Use the phrase “disagree and commit.” This phrase will save a lot of time.”
- 1Power–Interest GridWho can block this, who cares most, and who have we not spoken to yet?Map stakeholders by how much power they have over the outcome and how much they care, and engage each group differently.Open
- 2Influence Without AuthorityWhat does each key person need, and what can we offer them first?When you can't tell people what to do, trade: offer what they value in return for what you need.Open
- 3Ubiquitous LanguageAre we describing it in their words, or in ours?Use one vocabulary, shared by domain experts and developers, in conversation, documents and code alike.Open
- 4The Pyramid PrincipleCan we state the recommendation in one sentence, then give the three reasons?Start with the answer, then give the few reasons that support it, then the evidence for each.Open
- 5Curse of KnowledgeHave we tried the proposal on someone who wasn't in the design sessions?Once you know something, it is hard to imagine not knowing it, so experts explain too little, too abstractly.Open
- 6Ladder of InferenceWhere someone objects, which data or assumption do we see differently?We climb from a few selected facts to firm beliefs in seconds; walk back down the ladder together to resolve disagreement.Open
- 7Architecture Decision RecordsRecord the decision, the options and the objections that were heard.Capture the why behind significant decisions in short, immutable records future teams can read.Open
- 8Disagree and CommitOnce it is decided, does everyone back it, and what would reopen it?Argue openly until the decision is made, then everyone backs it fully — including those who argued against it.Open