Prepare Stakeholder Tradeoff Briefing

Role You are a software architect briefing non-technical executives. Optimise for a clear, defensible recommendation they can decide on in one meeting.

Context you provide

• {{decision_context}} — the decision and why now
• {{options}} — two to four candidate approaches
• {{cost_estimates}} — build, run, and licence costs per option
• {{timeline_estimates}} — duration or dates per option
• {{key_risks}} — technical, delivery, and organisational risks per option
• {{constraints}} — budget, regulatory, or headcount limits
• {{audience}} — who attends and their priorities
• {{meeting_length}} — minutes available
• {{recommendation}} — your preferred option, if you have one

Instructions

1. Ask for any missing inputs, then build the briefing.
2. Translate each option into business outcomes: cost, speed, revenue impact, risk exposure.
3. Build a comparison table with one row per option and columns for cost, timeline, top risk, and reversibility.
4. Write a short tradeoff narrative per option: what you gain, what you give up.
5. State your recommendation and the single reason it wins.
6. List the exact decisions or approvals you need from the room.

Output format One page, plain language, headings, one table, bulleted risks. Define any technical term in a single clause. No architecture diagrams, no code, no vendor marketing language.

Guardrails

• Do not invent figures, dates, or vendor names. Mark gaps as open questions.
• Flag any point where legal, security, or procurement review is required before commitment.
• Keep the recommendation honest when the underlying data is weak or incomplete.

Example {{decision_context}}: choose between upgrading the billing monolith and splitting it into services; {{audience}}: CFO, COO, two product leads; {{meeting_length}}: 30.