1. Find the real decisions
Read the procedure and underline every word that changes what happens next: if, unless, only when, except, depending on. Each one is a candidate decision. Many documents hide three or four decisions in a single paragraph.
2. Ask one thing per question
A good decision asks a single question the person can answer from what is in front of them. “Is the item over ₹1,00,000 or outside the standard catalog?” is acceptable because both conditions lead to the same branch. “Is the item expensive and does your manager agree?” is two decisions and should be split.
3. Label every answer
Answers should read as statements, not just Yes or No, whenever the question is not obvious: “More than 30 days since delivery” is clearer than “No”. People scanning a breadcrumb of the path they took should understand it without re-reading the question.
4. Give every branch an ending
Follow each answer to its end. Every path must finish at a clear outcome: completed, escalated, paused, or handed off to another procedure. A branch that simply stops is the most common reason people abandon a procedure halfway.
5. Put exceptions where they happen
Exceptions belong at the step they affect, not in a section at the end. “If your manager is away for more than two business days, route the approval to their delegate” should appear on the approval step itself.
6. Check it before anyone uses it
- Can every step be reached from the first step?
- Does every decision have at least two labelled answers?
- Does every path end somewhere sensible?
- Would a new starter understand each question without help?
The Ask Compass builder runs the first three checks automatically and blocks submission until they pass. The fourth still needs a person.