---
name: strategic-brief
description: Make the strategic case for WHETHER to pursue an initiative — problem, bet, alternatives (incl. do-nothing), cost-of-wrong with an early failure signal, and a go/no-go recommendation — before a PRD is written. OPTIONAL, router-recommended for new-bet feature work (D61); never required, never suggested for prototype/chore/incident/health-anchored work. Output: planning/briefs/<id>-brief.md.
version: 1.0.0
owner: wawan
risk: low
category: strategy
scope: read:okf, write:planning/briefs
---

# strategic-brief — Make the Strategic Case

Produces a strategic brief: the argument for *whether* an initiative should exist, made **before** a
[PRD](/skills/prd.skill) specs *what and why in detail*. The PRD assumes the bet is already
chosen; the brief is where that choice is argued. **Activated by [D61](/DECISIONS.md)** (2026-07-21)
after being spec-only since P0 — its own activation criteria (OKRs on a regular cadence; initiative
volume where informal prioritization strains) are now met.

> **Format note:** three-level progressive disclosure
> ([SKILL-FORMAT](/skills/SKILL-FORMAT.md)). Level 1 above is the trigger; this body is Level 2.

## When to use vs. not (D61 — optional, router-recommended)

- **Use** when the work is a **new bet** — a new product, capability, or direction whose "whether"
  has not been argued — typically on the [pmos-router](/skills/pmos-router.skill)'s
  recommendation at intake. The PM may always demand one.
- **Skippable by design.** The brief is never a gate. Skipping it on a new bet is the PM's call;
  the router recommends, it does not require. (Mandatory briefs recreate the ceremony-pressure
  failure D58's rubric-recommended stance was designed against.)
- **Do not use** for prototype-lane work (the lookable artifact IS the whether-test there),
  chores/incidents, health-anchored upkeep, or increments on an already-accepted direction.

## Procedure

1. **Frame the problem and the bet.** What is the problem, who has it, and what is the specific bet
   proposed in response.
2. **Tie to strategy.** Map the bet to a parent objective in the
   [OKR tree](/okf/core/concepts/okr-tree.md) and to the north-star metric. A brief that ladders to
   nothing is a no.
3. **Force alternatives.** At least two, including **"do nothing."** A brief with one option is
   advocacy, not analysis.
4. **State the cost of being wrong.** What it costs if the bet fails, and the **early signal** that
   would say it is failing — this becomes the initiative's kill-condition seed.
5. **Recommend, with confidence.** A clear **go / no-go / defer**, explicit confidence, written in
   the [anti-optimism](/okf/core/concepts/okr-anti-optimism.md) stance — report the case against
   your own recommendation before the case for it.

## Output

- `planning/briefs/<initiative-id>-brief.md` — operational instance, never in the OKF bundle.
- An accepted brief becomes the PRD's parent rationale (the PRD links it). A **no-go** files the
  concept into [planning/out-of-scope/](/README.md) so it is not re-litigated.

## Level 3 sub-cases

- Portfolio-level briefs weighing multiple bets against one budget: `strategic-brief-portfolio.md`
  (author when first needed).