Start with the decision
Write down what you are considering, what outcome you need, and what you already know. Include the constraints that could change the answer: time, capacity, cost, or a commitment to someone else.
Then choose the person closest to the next meaningful outcome. For a process change, that may be the person who has to use it every day. Their situation gives the review a focus.
Match the review to the moment
When time is tight: Use the Five-Minute Check. Name the missing person, consider what they might challenge, and sort the most important findings. Identify anything you must verify before proceeding.
When you need a fuller review: Work through the Ask, Empty Chair, Context Card, and Room Report. Sort the findings, then check them against people, records, or qualified expertise.
A short review can expose a useful question. It does not remove the need to check a consequential assumption.
A process change under review
Situation: A manager wants to move customer requests into a new intake form. The goal is fewer incomplete requests.
Empty Chair: The frontline teammate who handles urgent requests when customers cannot complete the form.
| Finding from the review | How to handle it |
|---|---|
| The plan does not name an owner for exceptions | Use: add an explicit ownership decision |
| Customers may abandon the form | Validate: review current support records and test with customers |
| A shorter form might work for urgent requests | Explore: examine which fields are essential |
| Every customer will dislike the change | Reject: the review gives no evidence for that claim |
The next move: Confirm how exceptions work today before changing the process. The review has produced questions, not customer research.
Decide what to do next
Keep a short record of what you will use, what remains uncertain, and who or what can resolve it. That makes the review useful after the chat ends.
Add another Empty Chair only when a new question needs a different perspective. You may need the operations owner after reviewing from the frontline seat. You do not need a simulated committee just to feel thorough.
Rewrite after you review. Commit after you have checked what matters.
How can AI help before you commit?
Use AI to suggest questions and possible blind spots. Choose one Empty Chair, review the decision from that situation, and sort the observations. You decide what is useful and what needs a real-world check. A confident recommendation is not evidence.