Discovery and decision workbook

Use this in early workshops. It records the basis for the initial method choice; detailed analysis follows as the design develops.

Discovery topics, what to capture, and the decision each informs
Topic	Capture	Decision use
Source context	Platform, version, features, volume, growth, change rate, workload groups	Identify viable methods and compatibility checks
Model complexity	Dependency depth, uniformity, statefulness, non-data objects, physical and feature exotica	Predicts which methods remain viable — more decisive than volume
Target context	Deployment model, region, network, capacity, target dispositions	Confirm which methods are available at all
Layer dispositions	Migrate, rebuild, archive or retire — decided per layer	Establishes what volume actually has to move
Constraints	Downtime, RPO/RTO, security, sovereignty, windows, skills, schedule	Test feasibility and trade-offs
External reporting exposure	Which outputs feed financial, regulatory or market reporting, and who owns them	Establishes the restatement risk before any correction is designed
Operational dependency	What now depends on each asset beyond reporting, and the impact of a day’s outage	Separates reporting migration from work that needs operational governance
Evidence and assumptions	Source, owner, date, confidence, review date	Separate confirmed facts from working assumptions
Method decision	Chosen method, alternatives rejected, reasons, approver	Explain how the choice was reached
Risks and actions	Trigger, impact, owner, due date, response	Track conditions that may change the plan
Open questions	What must be confirmed, and by when	Show which decision is waiting on an answer

Close every workshop by agreeing the next concrete piece of work — a compatibility assessment, throughput test, target confirmation, security review or rehearsal plan — and treat the method as provisional until the conditions that matter to it have been checked.