Purpose · Reason for being · Component
The refusal test
A short list of things the organisation has declined, or would decline, because of this purpose. If the list is empty, the statement is not doing work.
The deliverable
What it is
A purpose earns its place by ruling something out. The refusal test is the artefact that proves it does — a list of concrete things declined because of it.
Where no real refusals exist yet, hypothetical ones will do, provided they are specific enough that someone could disagree with them.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
Actual refusals
Opportunities genuinely declined, with the purpose cited as a reason.
3 attributes: What was declined · Date · Decided by
LearnHypothetical refusals
Things the organisation would decline, stated in advance.
2 attributes: Scenario · Confidence
LearnContested cases
Decisions where the purpose was cited on both sides.
2 attributes: Case · Ambiguity found
Learn
Contested cases are the most useful input to the next revision. They point exactly at the words that are not doing their job.
The other components in reason for being
The purpose statement
One sentence, agreed and dated, saying why the organisation exists. The single artefact the whole module exists to produce.
LearnThe laddering record
The chain of answers that led to the statement — the argument for it, and the fastest way to re-derive it later.
Learn