> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.meerietechnology.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to create a decision

> Step 1: set the goal, the options, the assumptions and the background of a decision.

## Watch it

![Creating a decision with Dave](https://mintcdn.com/meerie/4m98nozhN6Vq_X0_/images/create-decision.gif?s=b9537801068d4dafecf13929e6ad08c4)

## Start

**1. Create Decision**

Choose **Create Decision** in a workspace. A new draft opens with the empty **Decision brief** on the left and [Dave](https://docs.meerietechnology.com/tools/dave.md) on the right asking "What are you trying to decide?".

**2. Describe the decision in your own words**

Messy is fine. For example: "Should we open a second office in Melbourne next year, or keep growing from our current Sydney office?" Dave sorts it into the brief and only asks about the gaps.

**3. Answer Dave's questions**

He asks one question at a time, with buttons you can tick or your own text: how detailed the analysis should be, who decides and by when, the hard limits (budget cap, lease length and so on), the currency, what "value" means to you, and the discount rate.

**4. Name the options**

Dave suggests alternatives beyond the ones you named. Always keep the **current approach** as a baseline. Everything is measured against it.

As you answer, the brief fills in: each section gets a tick and the decision gets a short title. The progress bar above the chat shows where you are (Frame, Options, Model, Estimate, Results, Interpret, Revise).

## The Decision brief

The brief summarises the frame, the options, the goal, recorded assumptions and risks. Each section shows a tick when complete, and the header shows the version, your role and whether the decision is **ready to run**.

![Decision brief with Dave on the right](https://mintcdn.com/meerie/4m98nozhN6Vq_X0_/images/user-guide/01-decision-brief.jpg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=4m98nozhN6Vq_X0_\&q=85\&s=7a773480426a99b9cc679789cd599434)

Choose **Edit decision & options** to change:

* **Decision properties:** the decision as one sentence, owner, decide-by date, currency, period, discount rate, and two recorded limits (most one-time cash, largest acceptable loss).
* **Options table:** one row per option with a description and the settings that drive the calculation. You can add properties like spreadsheet columns (text, number, currency, percent, date, single select, checkbox, person).
* **Suggest options:** proposes standard patterns, options used in similar decisions, and ideas from the knowledge base.

A property tagged **in model** feeds the calculation. Other properties only describe the decision and never make a saved run out of date. Every save creates a new version.

> [!TIP]
>
> Prefer to talk it through? Ask [Dave](https://docs.meerietechnology.com/tools/dave.md): "Help me frame this decision."

**Next:** [Draw the influence diagram](https://docs.meerietechnology.com/structure/influence-diagram.md)


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