Key takeaways
- The assessment scores observable operating conditions rather than owner hours, personality, saleability or valuation.
- Five dimensions remain separate so a strong procedure cannot conceal missing authority or a concentrated relationship.
- The first three actions come from the highest-dependency dimensions and require evidence from real cases.
- The result is a copyable transition backlog, not due diligence, certification or proof that key-person risk has been removed.
Build the profile from what happens today
Answer for one operating scope: a company, branch or clearly named function. “Yes” means the dependency is observable now, “partly / unsure” marks one point, and “no” means the tested condition is absent. Use recent cases where possible.
Dependency profile
Each dimension is separate. A low relationship score cannot cancel a high authority score, so there is deliberately no overall grade.
- Decision authority
- 3/6
- Recurring work
- 3/6
- Relationship concentration
- 3/6
- Evidence and visibility
- 3/6
- Exception ownership
- 3/6
50% of observable signals selected
50% of observable signals selected
50% of observable signals selected
50% of observable signals selected
50% of observable signals selected
Name the first three processes to observe
List the decisions only the owner can make, name the successor authority, and test the delegation on a real case.
Observe the next three instances of the highest-frequency owner-run process and record its trigger, evidence and finish condition.
Introduce a successor into the next live customer, supplier or employee interaction and record what context was missing.
The rubric avoids one misleading readiness grade
| Answer | Points | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| No | 0 | The dependency signal was not observed in this scope |
| Partly / unsure | 1 | The condition varies or the evidence is incomplete |
| Yes | 2 | The current work depends on the owner in the way described |
A dimension therefore runs from zero to six points. The percentage is dimension points / 6. The tool sorts dimensions by points and uses the first three to create an observation backlog. Equal scores retain the published dimension order.
There is no weighted total. An average would imply that strong documentation can cancel missing decision authority, or that transferable routine work can cancel one concentrated customer relationship. Those are different operating exposures with different remedies.
Treat the highest dimension as a place to observe, not a verdict
- High decision authority: build an authority matrix and test a delegated live decision; do not assume a procedure grants permission.
- High recurring work: observe the next three instances and write the trigger, inputs, finish condition and exception route.
- High relationships: introduce the successor in real interactions and share the context and limits explicitly.
- High evidence gap: link decisions to source records and make the final effect reconstructable.
- High exception dependence: create a named queue, response deadline, fallback and closure check.
Read the owner-dependent business guide for the bounded absence test. Once the first three processes are named, move them into the seller handover checklist.
One profile can point to three different fixes
A buyer scores a service branch at 6/6 for decision authority, 4/6 for exception ownership, 3/6 for relationships, 2/6 for recurring work and 1/6 for evidence visibility.
The result does not say the company is “53% dependent,” and it says nothing about value. It puts approval limits first, an urgent-callback exception route second and a successor customer interaction third. Routine scheduled work is not the first problem merely because it consumes more hours.
Limitations and when not to use this
- The tool is an educational operating diagnostic. It is not business valuation, due diligence, certification, insurance analysis or professional continuity advice.
- Results reflect the answers and scope entered. Validate them against actual cases and include the people who perform and own the work.
- Do not enter confidential information, credentials, personal data, customer names or transaction terms. Only the text you type into the optional process fields is included in the copied output.
- A lower score does not prove the business can operate safely without its owner; untested leadership, relationship and rare-event dependencies may remain.
Sources
- Continuity Guidance Circular 1 — FEMA Accessed 5 August 2026
- Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems — NIST Accessed 5 August 2026
Build the seller handover
Use the ranked backlog to track access, real-case observation, decision transfer and successor control.
Build the seller handoverUli Prantz
Builds and operates all-agents
Uli Prantz builds all-agents, the process-automation platform this site documents. He writes about the operational side of automating recurring business work: where deterministic code beats model judgment, where it does not, and where a human still has to approve.