TemplatesDecide

Compare options and get a recommendation

Read each option, pick the factors that matter for your decision, compare them in one table, drop the factors where the options tie, and get a recommendation that also argues the runner-up's case.

  • Who it is for: Anyone who has to choose between options and explain the choice to a manager, a team or themselves.
  • Time: 15 minutes

Download it, in the format you use

  • Prompt chain

    Copy each step into ChatGPT or Claude, one after another.

  • Checklist

    Follow the steps and tick off the checks by hand.

  • Claude skill

    A folder Claude loads, so it follows the steps by itself.

  • n8n file

    Import into n8n and connect your own AI account.

Open in the Editor

The steps, and the check on each

  1. Step 1: Read each option

    List the facts stated about each option, and what is not stated.

    Hands back: For each option, a list of stated facts and a list of facts that are missing.

    Check:Every number comes from the options

    Counted automatically. If it fails, the step runs again.

  2. Step 2: Build the comparison table

    Choose the factors that matter for this decision and compare every option on each.

    Hands back: A comparison table with a column for each option and a Difference column marked tie or differs.

    Check:Each factor is marked tie or differs

    Counted automatically. If it fails, the step runs again.

  3. Step 3: Drop the factors where options tie

    Remove the factors where the options are the same, so only the real differences are left.

    Hands back: A table of only the factors where the options differ, and a list of the ones dropped.

    Check:Only differing factors are left

    Counted automatically. If it fails, the step runs again.

  4. Step 4: Recommend one option

    Recommend one option with reasons tied to the factors that differ, and say what you give up.

    Hands back: A recommendation with reasons, what is given up, and the runner-up.

    Check:A recommendation is named

    Counted automatically. If it fails, the step runs again.

  5. Step 5: Argue the runner-up's case

    Make the best honest case for the runner-up, and say what would change the recommendation.

    Hands back: The runner-up's best case and the facts that could change the recommendation.

    Check:The facts that could change the answer are named

    Counted automatically. If it fails, the step runs again.

After the last step

  • Check:Every number in the recommendation is in the options

    Counted automatically. If it fails, the step runs again.

  • Check:Every reason names a factor from the table

    A second look by the AI. If it fails, the step runs again.

  • Check:You make the final call

    You check this one. If it fails, it is flagged for you.

What you need first

  • The options(needed)

    Paste what you know about each option. Give each one a name and put a blank line between options.

  • What you are deciding and for whom(needed)

    Say what the choice is, who it is for, and what matters most to them.

  • Must-haves and limits(optional)

    List anything an option must meet to be allowed, such as a budget or a deadline. Leave empty if there are none.

Ways to adapt it

  • To weigh one factor more than the rest, say so in "What you are deciding and for whom", for example "Cost matters twice as much as anything else".
  • To compare more than five options, first run the template with all of them, then run it again with only the top two.
  • If you do not know the facts yet, paste what you have anyway. The first step lists what is missing, so you know what to ask.
  • To get the answer in a format for your team, replace the shape at the end of the recommendation step.

Change any step or check in the Editor, then download it again.

Last tested
October 5, 2026
Works with
ChatGPT, Claude, n8n 2.20
Version
1.0
What changed
First release.

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