Treat auto-renew as a Decision, not a calendar event.

Question: renew as-is, renegotiate, dual-run a challenger, or leave. Owner: the operational lead who lived with the last term, plus procurement. Stakeholders: finance, legal, and anyone who will absorb switching cost.

The last invoice, the last outage, and the last unimplemented promise are evidence, not nostalgia.

Criteria: delivered value versus the original Verdict, switching cost now, residual lock-in, and the price of another year. Evidence required: what was promised, what shipped, and what failed. Known unknowns: a replacement you have not proven and a notice window that is closer than it looks.

Material risks: auto-renew while the replacement is still a slide, and a renegotiation that has no walk-away option.

Decision Hinges: notice date, switching cost, and whether the last Outcome falsified a load-bearing claim. Required approvals: Decision Owner and finance. Legal reviews the notice and exit.

What could reverse the Verdict: a failed exit rehearsal or a price that moved after notice. Outcome review: ninety days after the new term starts, against the claims that bought the renewal.

Champion can defend stay. Challenger uses the last Outcome as the attack. Historian checks what the prior Verdict claimed. Inspector will not treat a renewal quote as proof the last term worked. Judge can refuse another year when the record is thin.

A quiet auto-renew is not a Human Decision.

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

Renew as-is, renegotiate with a walk-away date, dual-run a named challenger, or leave. Put the last outage and the last unimplemented promise on the card before the quote. If notice is next week, wait is not an option unless legal says it is.