STR.11:4 - Solution
Select only the result supported by the current comparison and authority. State its scope, keep retained possibilities separate from joint use, and connect the commitment to the premises that would change it.
STR.11:4.1 - Recover the chooser and the result the choice must produce
State who receives the comparison and who can choose the direction or commitment in question. Recover the relevant authority from the actual arrangement; a job title alone does not establish it.
Ask what is being decided now. It may be a strategic direction, a bounded preparation, one commitment, a jointly used configuration, continuation, deferral or rejection of the present set. If the task is only to recommend, return the recommendation and its limits without reporting the recipient’s decision.
Use FPF C.11 for the local choice over an adequate option set and comparison basis. If the set is still incomplete, return to STR.5 or STR.6. If a live inquiry could change the choice, compare its worth through STR.7 rather than adding an automatic trial.
STR.11:4.2 - Carry the actual evidence and uncertainty into choice
Use the comparison for these alternatives, configuration, horizon and criterion. Retain supported claims, material uncertainty and conditions that make a candidate unavailable. Apply a changed basis to all affected alternatives; do not compare one under an old assumption and another under a new one.
A PSD.10 uncertainty result can supply the bounded claim or unresolved question. Use it within its population, conditions and source limits. An interest interview cannot become a conversion forecast in the final decision merely because a financial table needs revenue.
Choose the smallest useful result the evidence can support. A sound preparation decision may leave the larger direction open. A sufficient negative result can justify continuation or rejection without another experiment. When a necessary condition is missing, narrow the commitment or return the gap.
STR.11:4.3 - Say what kind of set is being retained or selected
Distinguish the set’s intended use before calling it a portfolio:
| Intended result | Meaning for the participants |
|---|---|
| Alternatives retained for later choice | The members remain possible rivals; inclusion does not commission their work |
| Ordered alternatives | The basis supports an ordering for the named choice, with its qualifications |
| Members included for one joint use | The members are intended to contribute together; their relations and joint conditions must support that use |
| Authorized commitments | Specified resources or conduct are bound through the decisions of the holders who can make them |
These meanings are not four compulsory stages. A sufficient direct choice may need no set declaration.
When a downstream recipient needs an explicit selected-set declaration, use G.5’s DeclareSetResult branch with already identified members and a current choice or inclusion basis. State the intended use, inclusion conditions, ordering and supporting basis. Its Shortlist, RankedShortlist and JointUseSet results distinguish, respectively, the retained alternatives, ordered alternatives and all-member joint use in the table.
Before selecting joint use, inspect shared capacity, dependence, incompatible conditions and displaced work. STR.8 and STR.14 supply missing support and reconciliation. Several individually attractive options do not become a feasible joint configuration by appearing in adjacent rows.
STR.11:4.4 - Bound the commitment in practical terms
State what is selected, for what purpose and horizon, what resources or conduct it binds, and what remains excluded or conditional. Name who provides or allocates the resources and who authorizes the dependent action.
Keep the scope legible to the people who will use it. If preparation is selected, say what it may obtain and what execution it does not include. If a continuing obligation is created, include its support and exit conditions. Preserve protected current work and the cost of keeping a fallback available.
Use ordinary existing decision notes when they carry the needed reasoning. Retain enough detail that a later participant will not infer a larger commitment or stronger evidence than the choice supports.
STR.11:4.5 - Make assumptions and reconsideration usable
Name the premises that can reverse, narrow or invalidate the chosen scope. Include an adopted criterion or filter where a changed rule would alter future selection. State what answer would matter and who can reconsider.
Distinguish a warning, an occasion for renewed judgement and an already authorized stop. STR.12 can establish the observation and response relation when ongoing follow-up is needed. Do not invent a monitoring assignment if the choice is already complete and no subsequent reliance requires one.
Keep the serious rival and the reason it was not chosen. A preserved fallback needs the conditions and cost that make later exercise possible. A rejected direction can remain in ordinary memory without a standing work commitment.
STR.11:4.6 - Return the decision and its remaining boundary
Return the recommendation or actual decision under its correct name, with the comparison basis, scope, conditions and next permitted contribution. State who still needs to supply a financing, capability, permission or other result before a larger move.
The immediate question is complete when the recipient can understand the selected result and act within its actual bounds, or when the impasse is clear. Completion need not select a full long-term strategy. Reopen only a condition that can change the choice or its usable scope.