Shashwat Kumar

ReadSigil / The decision collection

Better questions.
Better combinations.

The decision is the unit of work. Run it through six gates, answer 24 questions honestly, and get a call: Go, Pilot, Constrain, Fix or Stop, with the binding constraint, the authority an AI may hold, the next actions and the stop rule.

Framework and design by Shashwat Kumar · Decision Core, the six gates, the Nine Answers and the named lenses · October 2026 edition

  1. FrameIs there a decision?
  2. ValueIs it worth it, and when?
  3. BoundHow much authority?
  4. SourceBuild, buy, rent; can we leave?
  5. CommitCan we deliver and run it?
  6. LearnWill we know, and can we stop?

01 / Run a decision

Six gates. The strictest one decides.

Start from a worked case or your own. Each gate crosses two axes on a 3 × 3 matrix; each axis is placed by two evidence questions, not by a guess. When in doubt, pick the weaker answer: unknown is not medium.

Decision memo

The doctrine behind the gates

Minimum sufficient decision-grade data. Reuse that lowers marginal cost. Capability relative to complexity. Own differentiation; rent commodity. Design for reversibility. Measure value per scarce resource.

02 / Better combinations

When one gate isn't enough, cross two ideas.

Thirteen pairings, each framed as the question it answers. Drag the sliders or click a quadrant; each quadrant gives a call and a move, not just a label.

How to measure these axes

03 / Better questions

Every term earns its place by the question it forces.

04 / Named lenses

Each lens bites at one gate.

05 / Turn the call into a brief

The Nine Answers.

Business problem → Decision → User → Data → Intelligence → Action → Control → KPI → ₹. Each answer is checked for sharpness as you type: a number where a number belongs, an owner, a baseline, a stop rule.

Stays in this page until you download it. Nothing is sent anywhere.

06 / How to read this

These are judgment aids, not validated scoring models. The bands and calls make reasoning explicit and arguable; they do not grant permission to act. Real decisions still need tested evidence, explicit authority and a named, accountable owner. Worked cases are fictional.

Credit. The Decision Core, the six-gate method, the Nine Answers and the named frameworks marked as originals are the work of Shashwat Kumar. They build on established tools, such as 2 × 2 matrices, holdout tests and calibration, which are not claimed as his. Quote or adapt freely with attribution.

Cite as: Kumar, S. (2026). Decision Atlas: six gates from idea to call. ReadSigil. https://readsigil.com/decision-atlas/