Skill: escalation-framework

Skill: escalation-framework

Purpose

Determine when, how, and to whom to escalate delivery issues — so the right people make decisions at the right time without unnecessary noise.

When to Use

• A blocker cannot be resolved at team level
• A risk has materialized into an issue
• A decision requires authority beyond the PDM

Framework: Escalation Decision

Step 1 — Assess the Issue

Ask:

• What is the issue?
• What is the business impact if unresolved?
• What is the urgency (hours / days / weeks)?
• What has already been tried?
• Who owns the resolution?

Step 2 — Escalation Levels

Level	Who	When to Use
L1 — Team	Tech Lead, QA Lead, Team members	Blocker within team's control
L2 — PDM	You	Cross-team blocker, resource conflict
L3 — Sponsor / Manager	Your manager, Programme Manager	Budget, headcount, or priority decision
L4 — Steering Committee	Executives, stakeholders	Release go/no-go, major scope change, budget overrun
L5 — External	Vendor, legal, regulatory body	Third-party issues outside the org

Step 3 — Escalation Decision Tree

Is the issue resolvable within the team?
  YES → L1 — resolve at team level
  NO ↓
Does it require cross-team coordination or resource?
  YES → L2 — PDM escalates
  NO ↓
Does it require a priority or budget decision?
  YES → L3 — Manager/Sponsor
  NO ↓
Does it affect the release date or major commitments?
  YES → L4 — Steering Committee
  NO → Monitor and document

Step 4 — Escalation Brief Template

When escalating, always provide:

Issue: [One sentence description] Impact: [What happens if not resolved — business, timeline, quality] Urgency: [Decision needed by: date/time] What we've tried: [Actions already taken] Options: [2–3 options with trade-offs] Recommended option: [Your recommendation] Ask: [Explicit decision or action needed from this person]

Step 5 — After Escalation

• Document the decision in the decision log
• Communicate outcome to relevant teams
• Update risk register status

Output Format

1. Escalation level recommendation
2. Escalation brief (ready to send)
3. Decision log entry template
4. Suggested next command: /decision-log or /status-update