Frameworks Crosswalk For Advisors Our Mission Get the Suite — $397 Free Preview
Start here · One decision, under 30 minutes

Document an AI decision in under 30 minutes.

Know if your AI use is safe, risky, or unacceptable — before someone asks you to justify it.

No setup No complexity One real decision

Designed for decisions that may later be reviewed, questioned, or challenged.

Decision Defensibility Systems · AI Edition

When a board, auditor, regulator, or court asks how this AI decision was made — will you be able to answer?

Defensibility cannot be reconstructed after the fact. It must exist in writing, with contemporaneous reasoning, before the consequences of the decision are known. Otherwise, however sound the decision was, it will not hold under scrutiny.

The Decision Protocol Institute publishes structured instruments for building defensible decision records. The first edition is applied to AI deployment, where the defensibility gap is most acute today.

38 structured instruments
10 interactive decision tools
20 illustrative case records
Built on fiduciary discipline

Including — AI Acceptable Use Policy, Use Case Triage Tool, Shadow AI Disclosure Protocol, Vendor Review Checklist, Executed Example: Marketing Content, and a 30-day Deployment Roadmap.

Built for

Everyone whose signature — formal or de facto — stands behind a decision that might be reviewed later.

Moment one

When scrutiny arrives unannounced.

A new board asks how a decision was authorized. An auditor requests the reasoning behind a deployed AI system. A regulator opens a review. A claimant's lawyer files a request. You need to show — not tell — how the decision was made. If the record does not already exist, it is too late to build one.

Moment two

When the outcome goes wrong.

Some decisions, however well reasoned, produce adverse outcomes. The question you will be asked is not whether the result was perfect. The question is whether you can demonstrate that the process was diligent, informed, and proportionate at the time the decision was made. Without contemporaneous documentation, the answer collapses.

Moment three

When someone else takes over your chair.

New ownership. A successor. An incoming executive team. They inherit your decisions — and the responsibility for defending them. If your records cannot stand on their own written merits, the weight of your judgment becomes their problem. Structured records protect both your legacy and their ability to move forward.

Defensibility decays over time.

Memory fades. Participants move on. Alternative options considered but rejected become unprovable. The reasoning that made sense at the moment of decision becomes indistinguishable from post-hoc rationalization. This decay is structural. It cannot be reversed by intention or diligence alone.

What remains defensible in twenty-four months is only what was written down before the outcome was known — not what was remembered, argued, or reconstructed after.

The principle of contemporaneity

A record has evidentiary value only if it was created before the consequences of the decision were known. Retroactive documentation — however accurate — cannot demonstrate that the reasoning existed at the time of the decision. The only defense that holds is the one built in writing, contemporaneously, with structure.

Deploying governance for your own clients? See the Agency License →

First Edition

The Decision Protocol is currently in its first published edition. Organizations adopting it now form the early operator cohort — the practitioners whose application of the method will inform the next iteration.

What it is

What this is

The Decision Protocol Institute publishes a structured discipline for high-stakes decisions. Not a template pack. Not a software platform. Not a consulting engagement. A coherent body of classification protocols, documentation standards, challenge procedures, and archival disciplines — engineered so that decisions taken today will still hold when reviewed tomorrow, under conditions that cannot be predicted now.

Classification & routing

The Triage Protocol

Every AI deployment is classified into one of three levels of documentation depth: Express (15 minutes, low-risk reversible decisions), Standard (30–45 minutes, material impact), or Shielded (60+ minutes, critical liability or regulatory exposure). Every decision takes the file it deserves — no more, no less.

Structured records

The Decision Files

Each record captures what was known, what was assumed, which alternatives were considered, which trade-offs were consciously accepted, and who signed what. Every file is designed to stand on its written merits before an independent reviewer who was not present at the moment of decision.

Challenge & stress-test

Module A & Module B

The Bias Audit (Module A) and the Pre-Mortem (Module B) stress-test high-stakes decisions before ratification, documenting that cognitive risks and failure modes were actively reviewed — not ignored. The presence of these challenge records is itself evidence of advanced diligence.

Recommended

Complete AI Governance Suite

38 structured instruments across both frameworks plus four exclusive implementation components — everything you need to deploy a defensible decision system in 30 days.

Save $97 vs. buying separately
$397

One-time purchase · Immediate digital access

AI Use & Control Framework (full kit)
AI Vendor & Data Control Framework (full kit)
10 interactive decision tools across both frameworks
Execution Library — 20 case records (exclusive)
Execution Library Navigator — interactive index (exclusive)
Executive Briefing — 10 pages (exclusive)
Deployment Roadmap — 30 days (exclusive)

Or purchase individually

Framework 01

AI Use & Control Framework

$247

One-time purchase · Immediate digital access

17 files · For internal rules, triage, literacy, disclosure, and rollout control.

Includes
Acceptable Use Policy · Literacy Checklist · Shadow AI Disclosure · Triage Tool · Rollout Memo · Approval Matrix · 3 editable templates · 5 interactive decision tools
Framework 02

AI Vendor & Data Control Framework

$247

One-time purchase · Immediate digital access

17 files · For external AI tool review, restricted-data handling, vendor approval, and escalation discipline.

Includes
Vendor & Data Policy · Vendor Review Checklist · Onboarding Protocol · Data Triage Tool · Rollout Memo · Escalation Matrix · 3 editable templates · 5 interactive decision tools

Other ways to start

Starter Tool — $29

A single defensible decision record. For documenting one specific AI decision — before scaling up to a full framework.

Get the Starter →
Lamberto Iezzi, founder of The Decision Protocol Institute
Founder
Lamberto Iezzi

35+ years in European institutional banking, fiduciary governance, and regulatory risk — including senior roles at ABN AMRO Bank (Amsterdam HQ), Banco Santander, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and Mediolanum Bank. Currently Board Member of the Vatican Foundation “Sacra Famiglia di Nazareth”.

Read full bio → · LinkedIn · Foundation Board
For Advisors

The method as a commercial instrument for consulting and advisory practice.

Consulting and advisory professionals who adopt the Decision Protocol gain access to a complete governance methodology they can apply within their own professional engagements — with firm-branding permissions, broad-scope deployment, and operator-grade guidance.

Governance engagements delivered by licensed advisors are typically invoiced between USD 15,000 and 35,000 per client, depending on engagement depth. The Agency License is structured for application within such engagements — providing the operational method the advisor uses across client work, reducing per-engagement preparation time, and establishing a recognizable standard of work across the advisor’s client portfolio.

Broad-scope deployment proportionate to a single licensee's practice
Firm-branding permissions on professional deliverables
Operator's Manual — scoping, triage, stakeholder mapping, handoff
15 editable source templates for tailoring per engagement
Method updates through December 2026
Perpetual license — single licensed user
See the Agency License — $997 Spring Edition pricing closes 31 May 2026 · Standard $1,497 from 1 June
How the system works

Five governance actions. One coherent internal control layer.

01

Define internal rules

Establish what is permitted, restricted, and prohibited.

02

Classify use cases

Route each use case through structured triage.

03

Control tools and data

Evaluate vendors. Classify data. Approve or restrict.

04

Assign ownership

Define who approves, who escalates, who owns.

05

Preserve the record

Maintain review discipline and governance trail.

Architecture

Six layers. One coherent structured method.

Each component has a defined role. Together they produce a structured internal control capability for defensible decisions.

Layer 1

Acceptable use and internal rules

Define what is permitted, what is restricted, and what is prohibited for AI use within the organization.

Layer 2

Vendor and data controls

Evaluate external AI tools. Classify data. Approve vendors. Control what data flows where.

Layer 3

Use-case triage

Route every AI use case through structured screening before it proceeds.

Layer 4

Ownership and escalation

Assign clear ownership. Define escalation triggers. Establish approval authority.

Layer 5

Documentation and examples

Maintain decision records. Provide worked examples. Support adoption with editable instruments.

Layer 6

Additional editions planned

Additional editions of the method may be released separately — Banking Risk, Board Decisions, and others — as part of the broader library.

Inspect before purchase

The Preview is real material — not a brochure.

Actual pages, real structure, and real operating logic from the current frameworks. Enough to judge the quality before buying.

The Interactive Preview is a guided tour with a working triage tool and editable policy demo. If the Preview does not meet your standard, do not buy.

Public Preview

Real structured instruments. Real structure.

Not marketing copy. Not a summary. Actual pages from the instruments, with enough depth to evaluate the writing standard, underlying method, and operational usability.

Actual pages Working triage tool Editable policy demo Executed example
Trust & transparency

Why trust this

Inspectable before purchase

Real pages and real structure are visible before payment.

Immediate delivery

Files are delivered immediately after purchase.

Clear boundaries

No consulting, legal advice, or post-purchase advisory support is included.

Operator with institutional pedigree

Founded by Lamberto Iezzi — 35+ years in institutional banking, fiduciary governance, and regulatory risk. Read the full bio →

Designed as a system

The available frameworks are standalone and usable now, but also designed as part of a broader structured method for defensible decisions.

Free sample

See what a completed decision record looks like

This is not a template. It is a completed decision record — classification, triage routing, data handling, review layers, trade-off documentation, and closure — exactly as it would appear inside your organization after deploying the framework.

7 pages · 9 sections · Marketing content use case

Open the Executed Example

Inside the record

§0 Decision Identity
§1 Classification & Triage
§2 Decision Context
§3 Data Sensitivity
§4 Review & Approval
§5 Decision Rationale
§6 Accepted Trade-off
§7 Conditions & Restrictions
§8 Governance & Closure
Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions

These are downloadable structured instruments for defensible decision records, applied to AI deployment. Designed for immediate organizational use.

No. The frameworks are delivered as downloadable materials only. No consulting, implementation services, legal advice, certification, or post-purchase advisory support are included.

No. They are structured systems of instruments that combine policy, triage, disclosure, review logic, guidance materials, and executed examples.

They are designed for organizations already using AI that need clearer internal rules, control logic, data-handling boundaries, and the discipline to produce decision records that hold under later scrutiny.

If you need internal rules, literacy, disclosure, and triage for everyday AI use, start with the AI Use & Control Framework. If you need vendor review, restricted-data handling, onboarding, and approval logic for external AI tools, start with the AI Vendor & Data Control Framework.

Yes. The AI Edition is the first application of the Decision Protocol method. Additional editions may be released separately for other domains. Only the frameworks shown on the site are currently available for purchase.

Small teams can deploy in a single session. Mid-sized organizations typically deploy in 2–4 weeks. The Complete Suite includes a 30-day deployment roadmap and an Enterprise Deployment Checklist for organizations with 200+ employees.

These frameworks provide the practical structured instruments — policies, triage, controls, and contemporaneous records — that support organizational readiness regardless of which regulatory standard applies. The method is regulation-aware but not regulation-dependent.

Immediate digital access. You receive an email with a download link for a structured zip file containing all documents (PDF), editable templates (HTML), and interactive decision tools (HTML). Everything works offline in any modern browser.

The frameworks are designed to be adopted and customized internally without legal assistance. For regulated sectors or organizations with specific compliance requirements, independent legal review of the adapted policy is recommended before formal adoption.

The frameworks are sector-agnostic. They apply to any organization using AI tools — financial services, healthcare, legal, technology, consulting, education, or any other sector where decision defensibility is needed.

Yes. A free Preview is available so you can inspect the quality before purchase. Full refund policy details are available on the Refunds page.

Defensibility is not a future project. It is a current requirement.

Deploy a complete set of structured instruments in 30 days. Both frameworks, 20 case records, executive briefing, and a step-by-step roadmap.

Reference materials

Regulatory Crosswalk — how the method maps to recognized standards

For compliance, legal, risk, and advisory leaders evaluating whether the Decision Protocol method is recognized by the frameworks they answer to: a structured mapping to NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, the EU AI Act, and SR 11-7 Model Risk Management. Free download. Two volumes plus executive summary. Honest about coverage and gaps.

138
Mapped requirements
4
Standards covered
28
Honest gaps declared
52
Pages of analysis
View the Crosswalk → Browse the matrix