01
A decision needs its question and its options.
“Shall we proceed with this plan?” does not say what is being approved. The options being chosen between, and the assumptions each depends on, need to be written down for the object of approval to be clear.
RAIFFA lays out the question, the options, and the assumptions behind each, side by side. It does not rank them or choose. The responsible person chooses.
02
An approval record states who approved what, on what basis.
An approval record holds the person who approved, the option approved, the evidence and assumptions at the time, and when it was approved. Without any one of these, a later reader cannot tell what the decision relied on.
RAIFFA does not make the decision for anyone and does not approve automatically. It keeps the fact of a person's approval and its basis as they were.
03
Approval and execution are different work.
A record of approval does not mean the work is done. Carrying out an approved option happens in each organization's own procedures and systems. RAIFFA does not order or control execution.
When results are reported back, they are treated as new evidence, separate from the approval record. Reading what was approved apart from what was confirmed is what makes the next decision accurate.