Put assemble, wait, and decline on the same card.

Question: build, buy, assemble, wait, or decline this quarter. Owner: often a product or engineering lead. Stakeholders: finance, architecture, security, and the operators who will maintain year two.

A proof of concept is not an option unless someone will staff it after the demo week ends.

Time to value with this team, exit cost, who gets paged, whether a purchased core can be wrapped, and capital you will not get back. Engineers are not free.

Evidence required: a staffing plan with names, a buy quote with exit terms, and a year-two maintenance load. Known unknowns: hiring that has not landed and vendor roadmaps you cannot inspect.

Decision Hinges: calendar time with the people you have, lock-in, and whether the purchased core can stay wrapped. Required approvals: Decision Owner plus finance. Architecture and security review lock-in and operational load.

What could reverse the Verdict: a hiring slip, a capital change, or a buy price that moved. Outcome review: after first production use and again when the maintenance load is real.

Champion defends the preferred build or purchase. Challenger attacks opportunity cost. Strategist can propose assemble or wait. Grandfather judges capital and optionality. Judge scores the staff you have, not the org chart you wish you had.

A preferred build that never scores wait is not a Decision.

Champion and Challenger test the case, Inspector checks the evidence, and Judge records the Verdict for the Decision Owner.

Build the workflow, buy a platform, wrap a purchased core, or decline this quarter. Include who maintains it in year two. The Human Decision can still buy after a Verdict favors build if capital and hiring reality changed.