DecisionMap

DecisionMap is a practical protocol for turning complex business, product, market, and marketing decisions into visible strategy maps.

It is a protocol + prompt toolkit, not a hosted service and not a substitute for leadership judgment.

What It Is

Use DecisionMap when the real problem is not a lack of ideas, but a messy decision with multiple plausible paths, asymmetric risks, and uncertain external reactions.

DecisionMap helps users:

• restate the real decision
• separate facts, assumptions, interpretations, and unknowns
• generate 3-7 distinct strategic options
• compare trade-offs, risks, resources, and breakpoints
• pressure-test shortlisted options
• keep an update loop alive through a cascade log

The main output is a working strategic hypothesis, not a final truth.

Scope

DecisionMap is designed for:

• business strategy
• product strategy
• market positioning
• competitive response
• go-to-market decisions
• marketing strategy under uncertainty

It is intentionally out of scope for:

• military or political conflict
• legal or medical advice
• financial investment decisions
• mergers and acquisitions
• layoffs or HR restructuring

Quick Start

1. Start with USAGE.md for the manual runbook.
2. Use prompts/system_prompt.md as the runtime system/developer prompt.
3. Run the stage prompts in order:
   • prompts/01_intake.md
   • prompts/02_clarifying_questions.md
   • prompts/03_strategy_map.md
   • prompts/04_deep_dive.md
   • prompts/05_decision_summary.md
4. If the decision continues over time, use the cascade log artifacts in examples/.

Optional ID Bootstrap

DecisionMap stays standalone, but it can optionally consume ID as a portable human-context layer for longer-running strategic work.

Recommended bootstrap order:

1. profiles/<owner>/soul.md
2. profiles/<owner>/profile.core.md
3. profiles/<owner>/handshake.md

Use that order when:

• the same decision evolves across multiple sessions
• the user has strong formatting, tone, or decision-style preferences
• you want continuity without re-explaining the same working style every time

Do not treat ID as market evidence or decision truth. It is only user-context and operating-constraints input.

Canonical Examples

These are the flagship examples for v0.2.

• examples/agri_commodity_market_entry.md - compact agri/commodities strategy map for a Ukrainian sunflower oil exporter evaluating Indian market entry.
• examples/fmcg_route_to_market_full_run.md - full walkthrough for an FMCG chilled dairy brand redesigning route-to-market expansion.
• examples/cascade_log_agri_commodity_market_entry.md - worked update loop that continues the agri/commodities case after the first decision.

Starter generic examples are still included, but they are no longer the flagship credibility artifacts:

• examples/full_run_product_launch.md
• examples/product_launch.md
• examples/competitive_response.md

JSON Outputs

DecisionMap ships with normative schemas and real JSON fixtures:

• schemas/strategy_map.schema.json
• schemas/cascade_log.schema.json
• examples/json/strategy_map.agri_market_entry.json
• examples/json/cascade_log.agri_market_entry.json

Validate the public examples with:

python3 -m pip install jsonschema
python3 scripts/validate_examples.py

Cascade Log

Stage 6 is a first-class capability in v0.2, not just a note.

Use it when the decision evolves over weeks or months and you need structured memory for:

• what was decided
• which assumptions were active
• which signals moved
• what happened next
• what changed in the working hypothesis

Artifacts:

• examples/templates/cascade_log_template.md
• examples/cascade_log_agri_commodity_market_entry.md
• examples/json/cascade_log.agri_market_entry.json

Document Roles

Artifact	Role
README.md	Canonical entrypoint for new users and contributors
USAGE.md	Manual operator runbook for chat-based execution
protocol.md	Normative spec for stages, outputs, confidence language, and cascade semantics
prompts/*	Executable prompt assets used during a run
schemas/*	Machine-readable shape for Stage 3 and Stage 6 outputs

Repository Structure

decision-map/
├── README.md
├── USAGE.md
├── protocol.md
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── prompts/
├── schemas/
├── examples/
│   ├── json/
│   └── templates/
├── scripts/
└── .github/

Contributing

The repo now has a lightweight open-source contribution layer:

• CONTRIBUTING.md
• .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/
• CHANGELOG.md

Contributions are especially useful for:

• stronger real-world examples
• protocol clarity improvements
• schema/example consistency
• better manual operator guidance

Roadmap

Roadmap is intentionally lightweight in-repo. Use GitHub Issues/Milestones for active work and prioritization.

Current v0.2 direction:

• canonical real-world examples
• validated JSON fixtures
• stronger cascade-log workflow
• clearer contributor ergonomics

ABVX Ecosystem

DecisionMap remains standalone and usable with any LLM.

Inside the ABVX ecosystem:

• lab.abvx can list it as a decision/strategy protocol artifact
• agentsgen can maintain repo-local agent docs for contributors
• SET can track or audit the repo
• ID can optionally provide portable user context for longer-running decision work, with soul.md as the preferred first-pass bootstrap

None of these integrations are required for manual use.

Related repos:

• lab.abvx is the public hub where DecisionMap is cataloged: https://github.com/markoblogo/lab.abvx
• AGENTS.md_generator, SET, ID, and abvx-agent-skills form the adjacent AI coding tools stack, but are optional here.

Privacy

DecisionMap itself does not require storing data, but hosted LLM APIs may process your input externally.

For sensitive work:

• anonymize names, companies, exact numbers, and internal documents
• remove customer data and personal data
• use a local model or approved internal environment when needed