What it means
Decision rights specify who proposes, advises, approves, executes, monitors, and can challenge a decision. Escalation paths define what happens when risk, value, cost, or policy thresholds are exceeded.
Why it matters
Ambiguous authority creates delay, duplicated review, unowned risk, and decisions that can be reversed without a clear standard.
Practical focus
- Map recurring decisions and accountable authorities
- Separate approval, execution, oversight, and assurance roles
- Define thresholds and escalation paths
- Review whether the framework produces timely, defensible outcomes
Common mistakes
- Assigning everyone responsibility without accountability
- Using committees to avoid individual decisions
- Creating approvals with no decision criteria
- Ignoring informal influence and culture
Certification relevance
This subject appears in or supports the following certification bodies of knowledge: