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Purpose

DBB heuristics determine when something is a decision worth recording. For SMBs, heuristics are intentionally:
  • Conservative
  • Explainable
  • Low-noise
The goal is trust, not completeness.

Confidence-based capture model

Every potential decision signal receives a confidence score. Only signals above the persistence threshold are recorded. Confidence is derived from multiple lightweight features.

Core heuristic signals

1. Explicit resolution language

Phrases indicating closure or commitment:
  • “We will…”
  • “Let’s proceed with…”
  • “Approved”
  • “Final decision”
Strong positive signal.

2. Convergence after discussion

Signals increase when:
  • Multiple viewpoints collapse into one
  • Alternatives stop appearing
  • Follow-up actions align
Medium to strong signal depending on clarity.

3. Approval or status change

Examples:
  • Document approval
  • Merge or publish action
  • Formal sign-off
High-confidence signal.

4. Rejection of alternatives

Explicitly rejected options strengthen confidence:
  • “We won’t do X”
  • “Option A is not viable”
Adds context, not a standalone decision.

5. Temporal persistence

If a topic:
  • Reappears across days or weeks
  • Retains similar framing
Confidence increases that a real decision context exists.

Negative signals (noise reduction)

DBB suppresses capture when:
  • Discussions are exploratory
  • Language remains hypothetical
  • No convergence is detected
  • The same topic oscillates without closure
Long discussions without resolution are flagged but not recorded.

False positives handling

When a captured decision is marked incorrect:
  • DBB records the correction as an event
  • Original capture is preserved
  • Confidence weighting is adjusted
No history is erased.

SMB-specific constraints

Compared to Enterprise:
  • Fewer policy layers
  • No manual approval workflows
  • Faster decay of low-confidence signals
  • Smaller evaluation windows
This keeps DBB lightweight and unobtrusive.

Summary

DBB heuristics for SMBs prioritize:
  • Precision over recall
  • Trust over automation
  • Persistence over activity tracking
Only decisions that matter survive.