10 Real-World Decision Frameworks from Leading Companies

1. Amazon – One-Way vs Two-Way Door Decisions

Source: Amazon Leadership Principles

Purpose:
Distinguish between irreversible (“one-way door”) decisions and reversible (“two-way door”) experiments.

When to Use:
When teams feel paralyzed by over-analysis, or leadership debates slow every move.

Why It Works:
It gives teams permission to act fast when the downside is limited, and discipline when the stakes are permanent.

Questions to Ask:

1. Is this decision reversible without major cost?

2. What’s the worst-case scenario if it fails?

3. Who needs to approve a one-way door?

4. How will we measure if it’s working?

5. Can we test it on a smaller scale first?

6. Are we mistaking “important” for “irreversible”?

7. What’s the cost of waiting another week?

8. Do we have enough data to be 70% confident?

9. What’s our rollback plan?

10. What precedent will this set?

Example:
Amazon uses this rule daily. A new product idea (like Prime Video’s interface redesign) might start as a two-way door — reversible if customers dislike it. A logistics center investment? One-way door — slow down and align leadership.

In Decision Desk:
Assign clear owners and due dates. Use Slack reminders for two-way follow-ups, and decision logs for one-way documentation.

2. Netflix – SPADE (Setting, People, Alternatives, Decide, Explain)

Source: Netflix Technology Blog

Purpose:
A framework for speed and clarity in complex, cross-functional decisions.

When to Use:
When decisions span departments — product, design, engineering, and finance — and alignment risks stalling progress.

Why It Works:
It formalizes how decisions are made while staying lightweight and inclusive. The “Explain” step ensures psychological safety and institutional learning.

Questions to Ask:

1. What’s the Setting (context, goal, timing)?

2. Who are the People (driver, approver, contributors)?

3. What Alternatives are viable and documented?

4. Who Decides, and by when?

5. How will we Explain the outcome and rationale?

6. Have we published this decision to everyone affected?

7. How will dissent be acknowledged, not buried?

8. Who’s accountable for implementation?

9. How will we revisit the decision later?

10. What evidence do we collect to improve next time?

Example:
Netflix used SPADE to make product bets on recommendation algorithms. Multiple proposals were documented, the final decision was public, and results were reviewed six months later.

In Decision Desk:
Each SPADE component becomes a Slack field — context, owner, alternatives, rationale. Decisions are searchable, timestamped, and explainable later.

3. Google – Dory & Pulse Voting

Source: Coda.io – Dory & Pulse Method

Purpose:
Crowdsource feedback and prioritize ideas transparently before leadership decides.

When to Use:
When input from many people matters — roadmaps, off-sites, or company all-hands.

Why It Works:
It democratizes signal collection while keeping decisions owned and structured.

Questions to Ask:

1. What’s the core question or proposal?

2. Who can contribute insight?

3. How do we collect votes or feedback (anonymously or not)?

4. What criteria determine “top-voted” items?

5. Who interprets the results?

6. How will leadership respond publicly?

7. Are we using data or popularity as our guide?

8. How will follow-up actions be tracked?

9. What gets archived for learning?

10. What happens to unselected ideas?

Example:
Google uses Dory in town halls: employees post questions, upvote them, and leadership answers the most voted — a transparent way to surface real priorities.

In Decision Desk:
Use threads or polls in Slack channels. Record top questions, document decisions, and mark status (“reviewed,” “approved,” “deferred”).

4. Toyota – A3 Problem Solving

Source: Sloan Review

Purpose:
A single-page method to diagnose, analyze, and decide on process improvements.

When to Use:
When a team faces recurring operational problems that require both analysis and alignment.

Why It Works:
It forces teams to compress thinking into one narrative — from root cause to countermeasure.

Questions to Ask:

1. What’s the current problem and evidence?

2. What’s the ideal target state?

3. What’s the root cause (5 Whys)?

4. What countermeasures are possible?

5. What will we implement first?

6. Who’s responsible for each step?

7. What’s the expected outcome?

8. How will progress be measured?

9. What did we learn from results?

10. How will we prevent regression?

Example:
Toyota teams have used A3s to improve factory throughput, document process changes, and share learning across plants.

In Decision Desk:
Each A3 becomes a decision record: problem, root cause, owner, status. Slack reminders ensure progress checks and shared learning.

5. Apple – Directly Responsible Individual (DRI)

Source: Gitlab

Purpose:
Every task or decision has a single owner — one name, one accountability.

When to Use:
When multiple leaders are involved and accountability risks diffusion.

Why It Works:
It ensures speed and clarity. Everyone knows who drives the outcome — no hiding behind committees.

Questions to Ask:

1. Who is the one person accountable?

2. Are they aware and committed?

3. Does everyone else know this person is the DRI?

4. What’s their decision authority scope?

5. Who supports them with data or execution?

6. When’s the next review?

7. How will results be reported?

8. What happens if the DRI changes?

9. How will success be celebrated or documented?

10. Where will this ownership live visibly?

Example:
Every Apple meeting ends with a clear DRI assigned — for product changes, launches, or internal issues. It’s written in notes and visible to all.

In Decision Desk:
Each decision record includes one named owner. Visibility replaces confusion, and follow-through becomes measurable.

6. Spotify – Squad Autonomy Framework

Source: Spotify Engineering Culture

Purpose:
Empower small, autonomous teams (“squads”) to make local decisions aligned with global strategy.

When to Use:
When scaling a fast-growing organization that needs both autonomy and coherence.

Why It Works:
It decentralizes decision-making while keeping accountability visible through shared rituals.

Questions to Ask:

1. What decisions belong to this squad?

2. How does this align with company-wide goals?

3. What dependencies must we manage?

4. How do we share learnings across squads?

5. Who represents us at tribe/chapter levels?

6. How do we handle conflicting priorities?

7. What’s our feedback rhythm?

8. How do we measure decision quality?

9. How do we escalate issues?

10. How do we record key decisions?

Example:
Spotify squads decide features, tools, and rollout strategies independently but align through guilds and chapters.

In Decision Desk:
Squads log and pin decisions per channel, tagging company goals for visibility across teams.

7. Microsoft – Fact-Based Decision Model

Source: Harvard Business Review

Purpose:
Base decisions on measurable data and cross-team evidence rather than seniority or intuition.

When to Use:
For product, pricing, or performance decisions where data exists but interpretation varies.

Why It Works:
Creates transparency, defuses politics, and shifts discussion from opinion to proof.

Questions to Ask:

1. What data supports each position?

2. Is the data recent and reliable?

3. What variables could distort the result?

4. How do we visualize it for shared understanding?

5. What’s the confidence interval or margin of error?

6. What qualitative insights complement it?

7. Who validates the dataset?

8. What will we test next?

9. How will we track outcomes vs predictions?

10. Who reviews the results?

Example:
Microsoft’s cloud teams use data-driven “Business Reviews” to prioritize investments quarterly.

In Decision Desk:
Attach datasets or dashboards to each decision. Pin outcomes and review summaries for transparency.

8. Intel – Decision Rights & DRI Matrix

Source: Intel Management Handbook

Purpose:
Clarify who makes which calls, based on expertise, not hierarchy.

When to Use:
When decisions cross functional boundaries (product, marketing, operations).

Why It Works:
Eliminates “approval chaos” by predefining roles: who decides, who informs, who executes.

Questions to Ask:

1. Who has decision authority in this case?

2. What’s the approval path?

3. Who provides input?

4. Who executes?

5. Who needs to be informed after?

6. What decisions require escalation?

7. How are conflicts resolved?

8. What’s the SLA for response?

9. How is accountability tracked?

10. When do we revisit rights?

Example:
Intel uses a “decision matrix” embedded in team charters. Every program owner knows their scope, reducing delays.

In Decision Desk:
Each decision post captures roles — Decider, Contributor, Informed — visible to all.

9. Airbnb – Decision Memo System

Source: First Round Review

Purpose:
Replace endless meetings with written clarity. Each decision starts as a one-page memo reviewed asynchronously.

When to Use:
When alignment costs are high and meeting fatigue is real.

Why It Works:
Writing forces clarity. It also documents rationale for future reference.

Questions to Ask:

1. What’s the decision being proposed?

2. What’s the background/context?

3. What are the options and tradeoffs?

4. Who are the stakeholders?

5. What data supports the decision?

6. What are the risks?

7. Who’s the approver?

8. What’s the decision deadline?

9. What’s next after approval?

10. How will we measure success?

Example:
Airbnb scaled major org changes using async memos; decisions are stored for company-wide reference.

In Decision Desk:
Each Slack post becomes a memo: context, owner, rationale, decision, next steps — all searchable later.

10. Stripe – Decision Doc Framework

Source: Stripe Engineering Blog

Purpose:
Capture the reasoning behind technical and product decisions for transparency and long-term learning.

When to Use:
For engineering, product, or architecture decisions that need documentation and traceability.

Why It Works:
It separates “decision context” from “implementation,” enabling clarity and accountability.

Questions to Ask:

1. What problem are we solving?

2. What alternatives did we reject?

3. Who proposed the decision?

4. Who approved it?

5. What risks exist?

6. What metrics define success?

7. How do we revisit it later?

8. How will it be shared?

9. How will changes be tracked?

10. Who ensures closure?

Example:
Stripe’s internal “Decision Docs” library lets engineers search past decisions before proposing new ones — avoiding repeat debates.

In Decision Desk:
Every decision becomes a short record — reason, owner, risk, review — logged in Slack threads and accessible forever.

Closing Reflection

These frameworks differ in style — some rigid, some creative — but all share a truth:
Good decisions are visible, owned, and teachable.

Whether you’re naming a DRI, logging a one-way door, or writing a SPADE, the discipline is the same — clarity over chaos.

Decision Desk builds on these principles by letting your team decide, record, and find decisions where work already happens — in Slack.