Decision diagnostic

A concise decision brief before your next expense.

A focused assessment: clarify the decision, target the verification and know the limits before committing more resources.

When to use the diagnostic

The diagnostic is useful when a decision must be made before committing a significant resource: a budget, team time, a prototype, a study or outside expertise.

The starting point is the decision to be justified, before choosing what analysis to produce.

Should we develop this product?
Should we turn our production into a value-added product?
Should we launch this business, or test the market first?
Should we implement this software or AI tool?
What should we check before buying this business?
Should we continue this project?
Should we commission a business plan or a study?
Among these projects, which ones justify a study?
Is the project ready for the board?
What do we need to know before authorizing the next expense?

An example, for illustration

A wild blueberry grower is considering investing in freezing and packaging equipment to sell under their own brand. Before buying the equipment, which question should be checked first: the processing cost, the production capacity, or whether buyers are ready to pay a sufficient price?

The diagnostic determines which of these could actually change the decision, and the simplest way to answer it, for example commitments from a few buyers before any investment. The same approach applies to a technology product, a manufacturing project or a non-profit initiative.

The deliverable

What the brief contains

Each element helps prepare a specific decision and determine what is worth verifying before committing the next resource.

The decision to be made, who will make it and their constraints.
The critical assumptions and uncertainties.
The information that could actually change the decision.
The level of evidence required, proportionate to what is at stake.
The possible options, their associated risks and how to manage them.
Criteria set in advance to interpret the result, and the thresholds beyond which the project no longer holds.
The simplest verification that remains reliable and proportionate to the stakes.
A recommendation, its limits and what will remain unknown.

The brief prepares the decision. The decision remains yours.

One question is asked before the verification What result would justify proceeding, and what result would lead you to modify, pause or stop?

Four possible outcomes

The diagnostic leads to a recommendation suited to the available evidence and to the decision you have to make.

Proceed

The available evidence justifies the next step, with clearly named risks.

Modify

The project should be adjusted before committing the planned expense.

Pause

A specific piece of evidence is missing. The decision waits for that targeted verification.

Stop

The available evidence does not justify the next expense.

Stopping is also a useful outcome. The diagnostic can prevent resources from being committed in a direction that cannot be adequately defended.

Specific situations

SR&ED, financing, second opinion.

SR&ED: before, during and after the project

Before work begins, I define the technological uncertainty, the hypotheses, the planned tests and the evidence to keep: the project is designed from the start to be defensible.

During the project, a milestone diagnostic reviews the results obtained, the hypotheses to revisit and changes in requirements. Documentation builds up as the work progresses rather than being reconstructed afterwards.

For a completed project, the preliminary opinion examines the technological uncertainty and the eligibility questions, without presuming the CRA's decision.

At a fixed fee. I do not prepare the claim under these engagements. My fees depend neither on the verdict nor on the amount claimed.

I prepared SR&ED claims from 2000 to 2015. I know the process from the inside and know what a reviewer will question.

Before a funding application

Before preparing a grant or loan application, find out whether the project is ready: which step is truly justifiable now, and which assumptions an analyst or lender will challenge.

The brief sets out the thresholds beyond which the project no longer holds and how to manage each risk. You can hand it to your lender.

I do not write the application; I tell you what it must rest on.

Independent second opinion

Already working with a consultant, and the proposed direction leaves you with doubts? I give you an outside assessment, at a fixed cost: what holds up, what stands in the way and the risks you take on by continuing.

The brief also sets out the questions to ask your consultant to confirm the approach.

Independent perspective: I take no follow-up engagement on the matter reviewed.

After the diagnostic

The brief is yours. You can hand it to your team or to a consultant.

It also serves as the specification for your business plan. Whoever writes it, you, your accountant or an AI tool, knows what must be demonstrated first, and you know how to judge the result. Financial forecasts and tax structure are your accountant's domain; the brief tells them which assumptions to quantify first.

A follow-up diagnostic, if you wish. Once the recommended verification is done, it compares the result with the criterion set in advance, updates the brief and determines the next justifiable step. Each diagnostic is complete in itself: no follow-up is assumed.

For a preliminary SR&ED opinion or an independent second opinion, I withdraw from the matter after delivery.

Fees and process

From $1,000

Fees are set in advance according to the scope of the engagement and in proportion to the stakes: a fraction of the expense the diagnostic helps justify, or avoid. They do not depend on the verdict. The delivery time is set in the proposal.

Initial conversation
Fixed-price proposal
Analysis
Delivery and discussion of the brief

RD‑PREP does not make decisions for you.

It determines the evidence that matters, the simplest way to obtain it and the limits of what it will tell you.

What decision do you need to make?

Describe the decision to be made and the next expense you are considering. I will tell you whether a decision diagnostic can be useful.

Tell me about your decision