Thinking clearly · Chapter 11

What questions should you ask before making a decision?

By Zafar Alam · Integrated Decision Architecture

Ask what problem you are solving, what evidence you have, what else it could mean, how the pieces fit together and how confident you should be. These are the five PRISM moves I use in What Are We Missing?.1

Start before the solution hardens

PRISM means Problem Framing, Research, Interpretation, Synthesis and Metacognition. Four moves work through the decision, with metacognition checking the process and confidence throughout.1

I do not present it as a separately validated model. It synthesizes tested parts. A completed checklist does not certify a decision as right; it makes the reasoning easier to examine.1

Give each question a checkable answer

'We considered the risks' is vague. Which risk, supported by what evidence, borne by whom? 'The team agrees' is incomplete unless you know which objections were heard and how they were answered.

Chapter 11 brings the tools into a routine. Keep answers short enough to use and specific enough to expose the gap. If nothing could change your mind, spend more time on evidence before spending more confidence.

A check you can use

  1. Problem framing: what is the decision and whose outcome matters?
  2. Research and interpretation: what challenges the answer and what else explains the evidence?
  3. Synthesis and metacognition: what do the pieces say together and what am I assuming?

Does PRISM guarantee a good decision?

No. The official explanation calls it a synthesis, not a separately validated model. It helps expose missing questions and assumptions. Outcomes still depend on the evidence, constraints and what you do with them.1

Zafar Alam

Zafar Alam is a civil engineer and Chartered Construction Manager with about 12 years on major projects. He is the author of What Are We Missing? How to Think More Clearly Before You Decide, planned for 13 February 2027.

Keep thinking

How do you make decisions with incomplete information?Chapter 9 · What the Room Does With What It HearsHow can you prevent groupthink?Chapter 12 · Group Judgment and Failure PreventionDoes AI affect critical thinking?Chapter 14 · Critical Thinking in the AI Era

Use this on a real decision

What are you missing?

Bring a decision you are weighing to the PRISM decision audit. Work through the question, the evidence and what could change your mind.

Audit your decision with PRISM