Strategic option analysis memo

Purpose

Compares named strategic options against approved criteria, investment assumptions, benefits, risks, dependencies, reversibility, and milestones, then states a conditional recommendation with a transparent scoring table.

Scope

Compare only the options named in the decision brief, using the approved financial model, market evidence, capability constraints, risk register, and implementation milestones. Excluded: selecting an option on behalf of executives, creating an unapproved forecast, or treating a scenario assumption as a commitment.

Data basis

• Option papers with investment, benefit, timing, dependency, and capability fields.
• Approved financial assumptions, scenario model, risk register, and strategic objectives.
• Customer, market, capacity, or delivery evidence cited by the option owners.
• Decision brief naming the baseline, decision date, and audience.

Result

Deliver an option matrix and memo showing baseline, scored criteria, sensitivity cases, reversibility, gates, and conditions attached to the recommended path.

Quality criteria

• Each option has value, cost, risk, dependency, timing, and reversibility entries or cited gaps.
• Scores reproduce from supplied weights and displayed criterion ratings.
• Financial figures identify scenario, currency, period, and source model cell or page.
• Sensitivity changes show which assumption moved and whether the recommendation changed.
• Recommendation conditions are separate from evidence and are not presented as approved actions.

Instructions

Use decision criteria and weights in the approved brief before calculating a score. Keep base, upside, and downside assumptions separate. Show zero only when the source states zero; otherwise use unavailable. Treat a dependency as a gate when the source says the option cannot proceed without it. Cite every score input and risk claim. If options differ in horizon or scope, state the mismatch and do not rank them.

Adapt before use

• Add the approved decision brief, criteria weights, financial model, and risk appetite statement.
• Define scenario names, currency, planning horizon, scoring scale, and sensitivity range.
• Specify decision authority, gate owners, and conditions requiring escalation.