Decision Brief · Confidential
Prepared August 14, 2026
Decision Lifecycle06Running
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Problem
Prep
Ready
Decided
Running
Reviewed
Learned
Blocker
Waiting for outcome by 1/15/1970.
Next step
Review the outcome in the Learning Loop when the window closes.
Decision
Day-1 activation is collapsing in the Configure Workspace step
Recommendation
Make SSO setup optional during onboarding. Move it to a post-invite step gated only when an admin enables enterprise policies.
- Confidence
- high confidence
- Decision owner
- Priya Shah · PM
- Sponsor
- Marcus Lee · VP Product
- Date prepared
- August 14, 2026
01
Why we believe this
The SSO gate sits directly on the step where activation is bleeding, and three independent signals (funnel, churn interview, qualitative review) point to the same cause. Decoupling SSO from invites is the smallest change that addresses the dominant hypothesis.
Evidence
Observed facts. Each item ties to a captured signal.
- "Configure Workspace step 62% → 49%."
- "By the time IT got involved we'd already moved to Linear."
- "First tool that actually helps me come to a decision."
Assumptions
What we are treating as true. None of these are facts yet.
- AssumeDeferring SSO does not materially raise security incidents in week 1.
- AssumeThe activation lift is causally tied to the gate, not seasonality.
Risks
- Workspaces enter production without governance — mitigate with a 14-day SSO prompt.
- If seasonality is the real driver, the metric won't move and we've spent a sprint.
Open questions
- What share of new workspaces complete invites before SSO today?
- Can we instrument a soft-skip and measure 7-day retention vs. control?
02
What we already know
Current evidence plus organizational memory.
Grounded in
Open memory →Current evidence plus 4 items from organizational memory.
Current evidence6
Applicable principles3
- Optimize for activation before monetization.Revenue compounds on retained users; pricing changes can't fix a leaky funnel. When in doubt, fix the bottleneck closest to first value.activationfunnelonboardinginvite
- Measure outcomes within 14 days.A prediction without a read date is a wish. Retention and conversion lag activation — set the window when you decide, not after.activationmetric
- Enterprise features require design-partner validation.Procurement scopes look the same on a slide and very different on a security questionnaire. No SCIM/SAML/audit feature ships without a written acceptance from at least one design partner.enterprise
Relevant lessons0
No prior lessons echo this brief yet.
03
Stakeholder simulation
How the room will likely react.
PL
Product leadership
Simulated
Likely concern
Is this the highest-leverage move this cycle, or does it crowd out the activation bet we're already running?
Supporting evidence
Configure Workspace step 62% → 49%.
Suggested response
Frame the trade-off explicitly: name what we will stop or defer to make room, and tie the prediction to a portfolio-level metric.
EL
Engineering leadership
Simulated
Likely concern
What's the cost of being wrong, and can we land it behind a flag?
Supporting evidence
Stated risk: Workspaces enter production without governance — mitigate with a 14-day SSO prompt.
Suggested response
Commit to a feature-flagged rollout with a defined kill switch and a single DRI; reread the prediction at week one before widening.
SE
Security
Simulated
Likely concern
Loosening or deferring an auth control needs a compensating policy — what is it, and when does it expire?
Supporting evidence
Assumption under review: Deferring SSO does not materially raise security incidents in week 1.
Suggested response
Pair the change with a written exception, a 14-day re-check, and an alert path so any abuse is observable, not theoretical.
DS
Design
Simulated
Likely concern
What does the user see and feel in the new flow, and how do we make the deferred step return without nagging?
Supporting evidence
Configure Workspace step 62% → 49%
Suggested response
Prototype the new path end-to-end (including the deferred state) and run it past five users before the flag widens past 50%.
SA
Sales
Simulated
Likely concern
Two deals are leaning on the original commitment — does this change what we can say in the next call?
Supporting evidence
Enterprise signals captured this week point to procurement sensitivity.
Suggested response
Draft a one-paragraph customer-facing note before the decision lands so AEs have a single source of truth in the next conversation.
04
What information would most change this recommendation?
Ranked by decision impact.
- 01decisiveIs the assumption "Deferring SSO does not materially raise security incidents in week 1." actually true?The whole recommendation rests on this. Disproving it changes everything downstream.
- 02materialWhat share of new workspaces complete invites before SSO today?Would narrow the prediction's range, not its direction.
- 03materialCan we instrument a soft-skip and measure 7-day retention vs. control?Would narrow the prediction's range, not its direction.
05
Decision readiness
Calculated from the brief itself.
Evidence strength
80higher is better
Assumption load
90lower is better
Risk exposure
88lower is better
Recommendation confidence
100higher is better
66readiness
Verdict
Almost ready
Close. Resolve the top missing-information item before deciding, or decide as an experiment.
06
Decision
What we will do in the room.
A decision has already been recorded for this recommendation. The brief below remains as the artifact of record.