YpifanyIs this for you?
The Decision Visibility Model works for one person or for a whole team. It is for you if any of these sound familiar.
- You use AI or an AI agent at work, and you want to stay the one in charge of what it does.
- You chose a security control, a scan, or a framework, and you are not sure it is doing what you think it is.
- You hired a person, a contractor, or a vendor, and the results are not what you expected.
- You sign off on decisions other people prepared, like a policy, a risk, or a system going live.
- You run a program or a training, and you want to know if it is doing what people believe it does.
- You started a business or a big project, you have been at it a while, and it is not turning out the way you planned yet.
- A decision turned out badly, and you want to understand it without blaming yourself or anyone else.
- You are about to make a big decision, and you want to see what you are betting on first.
Why look at a decision?
Every day you hand parts of your decisions to something or someone you trusted. You use an AI tool or agent, a security control, a checklist, a vendor, a policy, or a person you hired. That is how work gets done, and it is not the problem.
The problem is what happens when something goes off track. Most people find out the hard way, through a complaint, a bad review, lower profits, a failed audit, or a meeting with the boss. And when it goes wrong, nobody asks the person or thing you trusted. They ask you.
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See trouble sooner
Notice a decision drifting while you can still change course, before it turns into a surprise.
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Show how you decided
Be able to say what you chose, what you handed off, and what you were counting on. People can see that you are the one driving.
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Make the next call easier
Each look back shows you something you could not see before. A wrong call becomes one you can learn from and recover from.
Lots of training teaches you to do things faster with AI. This is for what comes after: staying in the driver's seat as more of your work runs on its own.
DVM does not decide for you, and it does not promise a perfect outcome. It works like a flashlight in a dark room. You still choose, with more of the picture.
What the process looks like
DVM looks at one decision at a time. It moves around a loop in three steps. Each time around, you see a little more.
Who created DVM
Cheryl Abram created the Decision Visibility Model. She is the founder of Ypifany, an Army veteran, and a former social worker who now works in cybersecurity and program evaluation.
DVM came out of her work in cybersecurity and program evaluation. Both kept showing her the same thing: the gap between what people expected and what was really happening.
- Lead evaluator for the Federal Executive Institute
- Curriculum design and evaluation for Prince William County's technology inclusion work
- Nonprofit cybersecurity risk workshop for the Loudoun Chamber
- Author of "Unlearning Evaluation" in T&D Magazine
- Speaker at the OPM Federal Evaluation Conference, Washington Evaluators, and ATD
Cheryl Abram, through her work with Ypifany, has been an exceptional consultant, providing invaluable guidance and support to my cybersecurity firm. Her strategic insights and innovative ideas have significantly strengthened my service offerings and positioned my business more competitively within the cybersecurity field.
Where DVM comes from
DVM stands on ideas from many traditions.
- Sankofa, an Akan principle from Ghana: go back and get what you need to move forward.
- Carlos Matus of Chile, who treated every plan as a bet made by a real person in a real situation.
- Sohail Inayatullah of Pakistan and Australia, who showed how the way you frame a problem shapes the answers you can see.
- Hansei, Toyota's practice from Japan of honest reflection without blame.
- The U.S. Army's After Action Review, which looks at what happened with the same honesty.
The Clarity Check
Four short questions about one decision. You can pick one that is behind you, one that is still playing out, or one you have not made yet. It takes about two minutes.
Nothing you type leaves this page. There is no account, and your answers clear when you close it.
Question 1 of 4
Which decision do you want to look at?
Write it in a few words. It can be about work, a tool, AI, money, or your life. For example: taking a new job, choosing a security control, hiring a contractor, or letting AI answer customer emails.
If this started to go off track, how would you know?
Your Clarity Check result
You can delegate a decision. You cannot delegate the fact that you chose to.
Why talk with Cheryl?
It is hard to see a decision from inside it. In a 60-minute Clarity Session, you look at one decision with someone who is not inside it. A session does not tell you what to do. It gives you the information you are missing for your next decision. You leave with:
- What you were betting on, said out loud
- What the evidence already shows
- A check on whether you are watching the right signs
- One next step for this week
If you keep going, the session fee counts toward the work you do together after. Who is Cheryl?
A short look back
Three questions, done on your own. Short answers are fine. Nobody is grading this.
Question 1 of 3
What were you hoping this decision would do?
Think about the situation you wanted, not the plan. If it worked out exactly the way you wanted, what would be different?
What were you betting on?
A bet is not an accusation. It is what you acted as though would happen. For example: "I acted as though my reviews were being checked the same way I checked them."
What happened?
Write up to three things. Then choose what kind of information each one is. If you are not sure, say so. Many things that happen are a fact and someone's judgment mixed together.
Your look back
Why talk with Cheryl?
Bring these notes. It is hard to see a decision from inside it. In a 60-minute Clarity Session, you look at one decision with someone who is not inside it. A session does not tell you what to do. It gives you the information you are missing for your next decision. You leave with:
- What you were betting on, said out loud
- What the evidence already shows
- A check on whether you are watching the right signs
- One next step for this week
If you keep going, the session fee counts toward the work you do together after. Who is Cheryl?
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