For the capstone War Room simulation, assign these roles. Each participant receives this brief card before the session starts.
| Role | Character Priority | Red Line (will not accept) | Potential Champion? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facilitator (Architect) | Process fidelity. Ensure all voices heard. Document ADR in real time. No position on outcome. | Adjournment without a documented decision | N/A |
| CTO | Stability and platform risk. Has seen too many migrations fail. Needs to believe this one won't. | Any decision that creates a new platform dependency without a migration path | If shown a compliance path and exit criteria |
| VP Engineering | Velocity. Team morale depends on not being blocked. Tired of waiting for architecture decisions. | Any decision that adds more than 3 weeks of delay before the team can start | Yes: wants to move, will support any credible option |
| CFO | Cost predictability. Needs to defend this to the board. Doesn't trust estimates. | Any commitment with open-ended cost exposure or no ROI framing | If shown a 3-year TCO with a break-even date |
| Compliance Lead | Regulatory risk. Has informal veto power. Often not in the room when decisions are made, then surfaces concerns at go-live. | Any data residency decision that hasn't been reviewed by external counsel | If brought in early and made a named driver in the ADR |
| Phase | Duration | Facilitator action | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0. Opening | 3 min | State the decision, the time-box, and the cost of latency. Confirm decision authority in the room. "We are leaving this room with a documented decision." | Shared understanding of stakes |
| 1. Surface Constraints | 10 min | Round-robin: each participant names the one constraint they believe is non-negotiable. Facilitator writes each on the board without debate. No advocacy yet. | Constraint list: visible to all |
| 2. Present Options | 10 min | Present the pre-prepared options (2–3 max). Each option gets 2–3 minutes: what it is, what it enables, what it forecloses. Facilitator keeps it factual: no advocacy. | Options matrix on board |
| 3. Establish Decision Criteria | 10 min | Ask: "Given the constraints on the board, what are the two or three criteria that matter most?" Reach consensus on criteria: these become the ADR decision drivers. This is often the highest-tension phase. | Agreed decision criteria |
| 4. Vote | 5 min | Score each option against each criterion (1–3). Total the scores. Present the winner. Ask if anyone has a fundamental objection that was not captured in the criteria. Document any objections in the ADR. | Decision selected |
| 5. Document ADR | 7 min | Complete the ADR in the room: decision statement, decision drivers from criteria, consequences, compliance path. Read it back aloud. Collect sign-off from all decision authorities. | Completed ADR, signed |
| Situation | Facilitator response |
|---|---|
| Two stakeholders are debating the same point for more than 3 minutes | "I'm going to capture both positions on the board as separate constraints. Let's not resolve it here: let's see if the decision criteria make it moot." (It usually does.) |
| A stakeholder raises a new constraint not previously disclosed | "That's a significant constraint. Let me add it to the board. I want to confirm: is this a dealbreaker for any option, or a factor to weigh?" (Force them to classify it, not just raise it.) |
| The Compliance Lead says "we need to check with legal first" | "Understood. Can we agree on the decision contingent on legal review with a 5-day window for them to respond? If they raise a concern, we reconvene. If not, the decision stands." (Prevents adjournment without a decision.) |
| The group is heading toward "let's take more time to think" | "I want to name what's happening: we have been thinking about this for [X weeks]. The cost of another week of latency is [$Y]. I'm not forcing a decision, but I want that number on the table before we decide to defer again." |
| Someone advocates for a position the facilitator agrees with | Say nothing. The facilitator never advocates. If you feel the pull, write the constraint on the board and move on. |
Within 30 minutes of the session ending, each participant completes this anonymously:
| Question | Score (1–5) |
|---|---|
| I felt genuinely heard during the session | |
| My constraints were captured accurately on the board | |
| The decision criteria reflected what actually matters to the business | |
| Even if I preferred a different option, I understand why this decision was made | |
| I would trust this process for the next major architectural decision |