← Go/No-Go (full guide)
Spoke · Template · 5 min read
Go/No-Go decision template (free)
Four blocks you can copy-paste into Notion, Google Docs, or Sheets. Scoring rubric, meeting agenda, decision record, follow-up tracker.
For the methodology behind the template — when to run Go/No-Go, the 7 criteria explained, the meeting structure — read the full Go/No-Go guide.
Block 1: Scoring rubric
7 criteria, 1–5 scale, with anchored descriptions for scores 1, 3, and 5 to keep scoring honest. Paste into Google Sheets — add columns for each attendee, formula AVERAGE() for the row mean.
| Criterion | Weight | Score 1 | Score 3 | Score 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Problem real | Critical | No specific people identified | A few candidates, mixed evidence | 5+ confirmed, recent, severe |
| Market exists | Critical | No data, "we think it's big" | Top-down only, no SOM | Top-down + bottom-up agree, sources cited |
| Will pay | Critical | Verbal interest only | Mixed signals (some yes, some no skin) | Pre-orders, deposits, or LOIs in hand |
| Team capabilities | High | Major capability gap, no plan to fill | Gaps named, hiring plan exists | All key capabilities on team |
| Unit economics | High | No model, "we'll figure it out" | Rough estimates, defensible thesis | Detailed model with margins, CAC, LTV |
| Runway | High | Less than time-to-validation | 1–2x time-to-validation | Comfortably 2x+ time-to-validation |
| Disqualifying risks | Medium | Major risks unaddressed | Risks named, mitigation in progress | No critical risks unaddressed |
Decision rule (set before meeting): GO if average ≥ 4.0 across critical criteria AND no critical below 3. WAIT if 3.0–3.9 average. NO-GO if below 3.0 OR any critical scoring 1–2.
Block 2: Meeting agenda
Total: 60–75 minutes. 3–5 attendees who can challenge each other.
# GO/NO-GO MEETING — [Initiative name]
Date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
Attendees: [Names + roles]
Decision threshold: GO ≥ 4.0 / WAIT 3.0–3.9 / NO-GO < 3.0
Pre-read distributed: [Date, link]
## 0:00–0:05 Frame the decision
Owner states: what we're deciding, what success looks like,
what failure looks like. No discussion yet.
## 0:05–0:50 Round 1 — Each criterion, silent score then discuss
For each of 7 criteria:
- Owner reads criterion + supporting evidence (60 sec)
- Each attendee writes score 1–5 silently (30 sec)
- Scores revealed simultaneously
- Discuss disagreements (3–5 min per criterion)
## 0:50–1:05 Round 2 — Aggregate and decide
- Calculate averages per criterion + overall
- Compare against threshold (set in pre-read)
- Output: GO / WAIT / NO-GO
## 1:05–1:15 Round 3 — Commit or kill
GO → Owner names: next steps, budget, timeline, kill triggers
WAIT → Owner names: specific experiment, deadline, re-decision date
NO-GO → Owner writes 3-paragraph postmortem within 48 hours
## After meeting
- Decision record published within 24h
- All attendees acknowledge in writing
- Calendar item set for re-decision (if WAIT) or check-in (if GO)
Block 3: Decision record
The artifact you publish after the meeting. Future-you will thank present-you for writing this clearly.
# DECISION RECORD: [Initiative name]
Decision: GO / WAIT / NO-GO
Date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
Owner: [Name]
Attendees: [Names]
## Context
[2-3 paragraph background: what we considered, why now]
## Scores
| Criterion | Avg | Range | Notes |
|--------------------|-----|-------|-------|
| Problem real | X.X | min-max | [key disagreement] |
| Market exists | ... |
| Will pay | ... |
| Team capabilities | ... |
| Unit economics | ... |
| Runway | ... |
| Disqualifying risks| ... |
| **OVERALL** | X.X |
## Decision
[GO/WAIT/NO-GO + 1-sentence rationale tied to scores]
## Next steps (if GO)
- [Action] — [Owner] — [Deadline]
- [Action] — [Owner] — [Deadline]
- Kill trigger: if [specific signal], re-run Go/No-Go
## Experiment plan (if WAIT)
- Hypothesis to test: [specific testable hypothesis]
- Method: [how we'll test it]
- Deadline: [date]
- Re-decision date: [date]
- Decision criteria: [what result triggers GO vs NO-GO]
## Postmortem (if NO-GO)
- What we learned: [3 bullets]
- What we'd do differently: [2 bullets]
- What this rules out for related ideas: [1 bullet]
## Acknowledgments
[ ] [Attendee 1] acknowledged: [date]
[ ] [Attendee 2] acknowledged: [date]
...
Block 4: Follow-up tracker
Decisions without follow-up become inertia. This block captures what to revisit and when.
# FOLLOW-UP TRACKER — [Initiative name]
## Kill triggers (signals to re-run Go/No-Go)
- [ ] [Specific metric] falls below [threshold] for [duration]
- [ ] [Specific event] happens (e.g., key competitor enters, regulation changes)
- [ ] [Date]: scheduled re-decision regardless of state
## Open questions to resolve
- [ ] [Question] — owner: [name], by: [date]
- [ ] [Question] — owner: [name], by: [date]
## Lessons captured
[Updated as the initiative progresses — what we got right,
what we got wrong, what changed our mind.]
## Re-decision history
- [Date]: GO (initial)
- [Date]: WAIT (reason)
- [Date]: GO (reason)
- ...
Run a Go/No-Go session in 30 minutes
The template is the easy part. The hard part is honest scoring under pressure. We built GoNoGo to give you a structured first-pass — voice intake, market sizing, scored output — so the real meeting takes 30 minutes instead of 3 hours.
Run a free Go/No-Go session →30 min · up to 25 reports · Decision packet ready for the real meeting
Frequently asked questions
Can I copy this template into Notion / Google Docs / Excel?+
Yes. The blocks below are designed as plain text — paste into any tool. The scoring rubric works as a Google Sheet (criteria as rows, attendees as columns, formulas auto-average). The meeting agenda works as a Notion doc. The decision record works as a Confluence/Notion page.
Do I need to use all 7 criteria?+
For full Go/No-Go decisions (new product, market entry, big hire), yes — skipping criteria is how teams talk themselves into things. For smaller decisions ("should we ship this feature?"), you can use a subset (problem real / unit econ / risk) but be explicit about which you're skipping and why.
How do you decide the scoring threshold?+
Set it before the meeting, not after. Common defaults: GO = average ≥ 4.0 across critical criteria with no critical scoring below 3. WAIT = 3.0–3.9 average with named experiment to address weak areas. NO-GO = below 3.0 average OR any critical criterion scoring 1–2. Adjust based on appetite for risk, but lock the threshold before you see any scores.