Decision making
Making choices by identifying, analysing, and acting on issues at varying levels.
This is a prototype for SFIA 9. It is subject to change before publication.
Guidance notes
Decision making in a professional context involves evaluating information, assessing risks and consequences, and choosing a course of action. It ranges from making choices about routine tasks to strategic decisions that affect the entire organisation.
Effective decision making requires analytical skills, critical thinking, and often, a balance between intuition and logic. As professionals advance, the scope and impact of their decisions increase, requiring a broader understanding of the organisational context and strategic vision.
Decision making in the SFIA framework illustrates a progression from seeking guidance and making routine decisions at lower levels to making strategic, high-impact decisions at senior levels. This progression underscores the growing scope of responsibility and the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the organisational and strategic context in decision making.
Level 1 - Follow
- Uses little discretion in attending to enquiries. Is expected to seek guidance in unexpected situations.
Level 2 - Assist
- Uses limited discretion in resolving issues or enquiries. Decides when to seek guidance in unexpected situations.
Level 3 - Apply
- Uses discretion in identifying and responding to complex issues related to own assignments. Determines when issues should be escalated to a higher level.
Level 4 - Enable
- Uses substantial discretion in identifying and responding to complex issues and assignments related to projects and team objectives. Escalates when scope is impacted.
Level 5 - Ensure, advise
- Makes decisions on actions to achieve organisational outcomes such as meeting targets, deadlines, and budget.
- Raises issues when objectives are at risk.
Level 6 - Initiate, influence
- Makes decisions to initiate the achievement of agreed strategic objectives including financial performance.
- Escalates when broader strategic direction is impacted.
Level 7 - Set strategy, inspire, mobilise
- Makes decisions critical to the organisational strategic direction and success. Escalates when business executive management input is required through established governance structures.