Decision Rules: One Person Decides without Discussion

One person decides without discussion When someone decides without discussion it means that they themselves analyze the situation and decide on a plan of action on their own.

Not every decision needs to be discussed and or agreed with others involved, for example in the case of low risk and low impact decisions. And there may also be certain high-stake cases where this rule may be beneficial, for example in a crisis situation where immediate action and solution is needed. However as a general rule the higher the impact the riskier it gets to make decisions without consulting anyone else.

When to use the One Person Decides without Discussion Rule?

One person deciding without discussion is useful for low impact decisions that are straightforward, like when a Product Owner decides to invite a new stakeholder to the Sprint Review. Take caution when applying this rule with higher impact decisions; one person making decisions for the entire team with no input can undermine self-management and transparency while stifling innovation.

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Making Clearer Decisions using Decision Rules

Scrum Teams need to make decisions all the time. Helping teams reach a decision effectively, and gaining necessary buy-in from all team members can be challenging, especially when team members are unclear on who has the final say in making it. Understanding the decision rule, how a decision is made and whose input is required, is necessary because ambiguity in the decision process causes confusion and frustration.