# Ghost Decisions

> A book about AI-era engineering organisations by Suzanne Daniels. ISEE — Intent, Structure, Execution, Evidence — the four-layer framework for teams that ship at agent speed without losing the plot. 296 pages, paperback + Kindle. Ships June 2026.

## About the Book

Ghost Decisions names the central problem of the AI-agent era: decisions that are correct, approved, deployed — and ownerless. It introduces the ISEE framework as a four-layer operating model that lets humans govern what machines execute at scale.

The book does not replace Agile, Team Topologies, or DORA. It addresses the layers they leave open.

## Key Concepts

- **Ghost decisions**: Changes that are correct, approved, deployed — and ownerless. The central problem the book names.
- **The Agentile condition**: What happens when your operating model was built for humans and your delivery now runs at machine speed.
- **ISEE framework**: Intent, Structure, Execution, Evidence. Four layers, four speeds, one operating model. Humans own the slow layers (intent, structure). Machines run the fast ones (execution, evidence).
- **The spine**: The structural layer that translates human judgement into machine-enforceable constraints — rendered once, enforced thousands of times per day.

## What's Inside

Eight chapters covering: the anatomy of ghost decisions; the four ISEE layers and why their speed asymmetry is a feature; the spine and why platforms should make calls instead of offering menus; the EM crisis (five accountabilities hiding in one role and the three new roles that replace it); rule of law for when knowledge-holders leave; governing the governors (separation of powers for platform teams); the chrysalis (why transformation programmes fail); and what ISEE doesn't yet know.

## Who It's For

- CTOs, VPs of Engineering, CIOs, heads of platform — leaders who set the operating model.
- Platform engineers, staff/principal ICs, EMs with org-design scope — practitioners who build the spine.
- Consultants, coaches, transformation leads — advisors who teach the model.

## Author

Suzanne Daniels — fifteen years at the intersection of technology leadership and organisational design. Founder of Great Success, an engineering leadership practice based in the Netherlands. Chief Developer Advisor at Microsoft.

## Deeper Dive

This site is a landing page for the book. For a deeper technical exploration of the ISEE framework, its layers, terminology, and application — visit [agentile.org](https://agentile.org). Start with [agentile.org/llms.txt](https://agentile.org/llms.txt) for an agent-readable summary, or explore the site directly for the full framework reference.

## Links

- [Ghost Decisions](https://ghostdecisions.com): This site — the book's landing page
- [Agentile.org](https://agentile.org): The ISEE framework — deeper dive on the concepts ([llms.txt](https://agentile.org/llms.txt))
- [Engineering Beyond Agile](https://thesuzannedaniels.substack.com): Weekly Substack essays on engineering leadership in the AI era
- [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/suzannedaniels): Suzanne Daniels
- [Full content for LLMs](/llms-full.txt): Extended version with complete site content