# Phase plan

A phase plan is how authority over an ad account widens in steps. One row per area per phase: what may change without a separate approval, inside what limits, what still needs a person, who holds the authority, and what has to be true before the next phase begins.

It applies equally to a new team member, an agency, or an automated rule. The mechanism is the same in every case: a narrow permission, a limit, a record of what was done under it, and a reversal rule written before anybody needs it.

## How to use it

1. Copy this file, or the CSV version if you would rather work in a sheet.
2. Write one row per area per phase, and never a single blanket permission.
3. Write what still needs approval explicitly, rather than leaving it as everything else.
4. Put a limit on every permission: how much, how often, on what.
5. Decide the evidence to advance before the phase starts, not when somebody asks.
6. Write the reversal rule while everything is going well.
7. Record every change made under the authority, with its reason and its time.

## The columns

**Phase** (Text). Which stage of delegated authority this row describes. Phases are numbered and entered one at a time, because the point is that authority widens in steps somebody can see.

**Area** (Text). What kind of change this row governs: budget, bidding, audiences, creative, structure, reporting. Authority is granted per area, never as a single blanket permission.

**May change without separate approval** (Text). Exactly what can be altered in this area at this phase, written narrowly. Anything not listed here needs an approval, which is the whole mechanism.

**Limits** (Text). The size, frequency and scope of a change that stays inside the phase: how much, how often, on what. A permission with no limit is not a phase, it is a handover.

**Approval required for** (Text). What still needs a person to agree, stated explicitly rather than left as everything else. Naming it is what makes the boundary usable at speed.

**Who holds it** (Text). The person, team or system this authority is granted to, by name. Authority granted to nobody in particular is authority nobody exercises and nobody answers for.

**Evidence to enter** (Text). What had to be true before this phase started: a period without incident, a report reconciled, a rule tested on past data. Without it, phases advance by confidence rather than by evidence.

**Evidence to advance** (Text). What has to be true before the next phase begins, written now rather than later. Deciding it in advance is what stops the question being settled by whoever is most optimistic.

**Review cadence** (Text). How often this row is re-read: weekly at first, less often as it settles. A phase nobody reviews is a permission that quietly became permanent.

**Reversal rule** (Text). What causes authority to narrow again, and who decides. Written before it is needed, so stepping back is a normal move rather than an accusation.

**Record kept** (Text). What is written down whenever this authority is used: the change, the reason, who or what made it, and when. A change with no record cannot be reviewed or undone confidently.

**Entered on** (Date (YYYY-MM-DD)). The day this phase started for this area. Phases in different areas advance at different speeds, so each row carries its own date.

**Notes** (Text). What the next person needs: the incident that narrowed a permission, the limit that turned out to be too tight, the area nobody has been comfortable widening.

## The phase plan

| Phase | Area | May change without separate approval | Limits | Approval required for | Who holds it | Evidence to enter | Evidence to advance | Review cadence | Reversal rule | Record kept | Entered on | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |

## Before you commit it

- There is one row per area per phase, and no blanket permission.
- Every permission carries a limit on size, frequency and scope.
- What still needs approval is written explicitly.
- Every row names who holds the authority.
- The evidence to advance was written before the phase started.
- Every row has a reversal rule.
- Every change made under the authority is recorded with its reason.