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Glossary

What is a commitment exception?

A recorded justification required to commit to work that is not yet decision-ready, naming why it is early, what is still unknown, who accepts the risk, and what condition would change the decision.

The point is not to prevent early commitments — real deadlines exist — but to make them countable. At quarter end you can then ask whether the misses came from early commitments or from a readiness bar that is set wrong.

Related terms

  • Delivery governance — The practice of deciding what to commit to — establishing value, ownership, capacity, dependencies and open questions before people, budget or a date are promised.

This definition comes from building DeliverySheet — it takes a vague work request to a clear delivery decision, so the shape, owner, capacity, dependencies and open questions are on the table before anyone commits people or a date.