How decisions are made
We take decisions close to the work, write them down where the work is, and escalate along a fixed path when agreement fails.
Who decides what
| Decision | Taken by | Recorded in |
|---|---|---|
| Technical choices inside a task | The task team | The pull request |
| Choices that constrain the design: a parameter, an interface, a component, a licence | The task team proposes, the department lead or a member Qualified in the area reviews, and Direction accepts | A Design Decision Record |
| Starting to build a machine | Direction, with the Tutor’s agreement; for a machine built for users, after their go | The team’s plan |
| Safety rules and authorisations | The Tutor | The safety documentation |
| Budget, purchases, sponsors and external relations | Direction | Direction’s records |
| Admission of members and selection of department leads | Direction | Direction’s records |
| The next season’s Team Lead and Co-Lead | The Tutor | Direction’s records |
Reversible and irreversible decisions
A decision that can be undone cheaply is taken by whoever is doing the work and noted in the pull request. A decision that is costly to undo needs a Design Decision Record before work proceeds: purchases, frozen interfaces, changes to published parameters and anything that affects safety.
Consent by default
A proposal posted where the work is discussed stands if nobody objects within three working days during term. An objection states a reason and, where possible, an alternative.
Escalation
When a task team cannot agree, its convener takes the question to the Team Lead. Questions of safety or of institutional weight go to the Tutor, whose decision is final.
The plan and the record
Direction keeps a plan for the coming seasons and reviews it every September, including the decision on whether to build ALOHA-1. This handbook is revised at the same time.
A decision exists once it is written in a pull request or a Design Decision Record. Agreements reached in a meeting or in chat are written down the same day by whoever proposed them.