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 a 15-minute talk
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 →15 min · up to 20 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.
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A template decides. First check what you can evidence.
Before you fill the criteria in, answer nine questions about the idea and see which ones you cannot back with anything. Runs in the browser, free, no signup.