Getting Started
Creating your first decision in Confab is easy with the Quick Create workflow. It’s designed to get you from idea to collaboration in just a few guided steps—so you can focus on what matters: exploring options and gathering meaningful input from others.
This page walks you through the process of creating a new Confab and what to do next.
Step 1: Define the Issue
Every Confab starts with a question or problem to solve. The first step is to give your Confab a name and a brief description. This helps set the stage for your collaborators by clarifying the purpose of the decision.
Ask yourself:
- What decision needs to be made?
- What context or background would help others understand it?
Once you’ve defined the issue, you’re ready to start exploring solutions.
Let's follow along with an example.
Confab Name:
Future of Legacy Product Alpha
Description:
Sales and usage of Product Alpha have dropped significantly over the past year. We must decide whether to reinvest, reposition, bundle it, sunset it, or modernize it.
This assumes the team already understand Product Alpha and relevant background information. If some team members are new or don't fully understand Product Alpha, the definition is a great place to provide a short summary and links to reference material.
Background:
Product Alpha is a legacy SaaS tool designed to help mid-sized businesses manage internal knowledge sharing and team documentation. It launched 6 years ago and was widely adopted by HR and operations teams for its simplicity and low cost. However, it hasn’t kept pace with newer competitors offering real-time collaboration, AI-powered search, and modern UX. Usage has declined by 35% over the past year, and several long-time customers have churned.
Step 2: Add Options
Now brainstorm the possible choices—these are called Options in Confab.
Options can represent:
- Possible solutions
- Product features to prioritize
- Travel destinations
- Vendors under review
You can quickly enter a list of options, one at a time. Keep them short and clear—others can help refine or edit them later. If you change your mind, you can easily remove options before continuing.
Add options using the Quick Create interface or collaboratively via a NoteBlock.
Returning to the example, here are some options for Product Alpha strategy. For now just enter the option names, we'll add more detail later.
| Option | Summary |
|---|---|
| Reinvest in Marketing | Run aggressive campaigns to regain traction |
| Reposition the Product | Retarget to a different audience or use case |
| Bundle with Other Products | Package with newer offerings for added value |
| Sunset the Product | Phase it out cleanly with a migration plan |
| Pivot Development Focus | Invest in modernizing the product |
Let's get some help with those options, or to find new ones.
Step 3: Invite Your Team
Next, invite others to participate in the decision.
Just enter their email addresses one by one. For each person, you’ll also choose a role:
- Owner – manages participants and settings
- Editor – adds and updates content
- Respondent – shares opinions and answers questions
- Viewer – observes but does not edit
These roles help ensure everyone can contribute appropriately and securely.
You can change someone’s role later if needed.
| Stakeholder | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah | Product Manager | owner | sarah@bigcorp.com |
| Jamir | Sales Lead | editor | jamir@bigcorp.com |
| Anika | Customer Success Lead | respondent | anika@bigcorp.com |
| Devon | Finance Lead | viewer | devon@bigcorp.com |
| Hari | Consulting advisor | editor | hari.s@foundation.org |
Note how you can add people who aren't from the same company, or may not be members of the workgroup containing the confab. Confab owners can assemble a team from anyone they choose.
Step 4: Finalize and Create
Before launching your Confab, you’ll review the information you've entered and (optionally) choose a due date—a target to help keep things on track.
When you’re ready, click Create to begin.
Your Confab is now live and ready for collaboration!
What's next?
After creating your Confab, you’ll typically start with:
- Adding Notes: Each option has its own page where you can add notes, background info, questions, and comments using rich, collaborative NoteBlocks.
- Giving Opinions: You and your team can begin expressing what you think—through votes, comments, scores, or rankings.
From here, your team can deliberate at its own pace, and Confab will help you visualize and track how the decision evolves.
🟨 Step 5: Add Option Attributes
Use attributes to compare options on cost, effort, and expected outcomes.
In our example, let's define attributes for cost, time, ROI, effort and impact.
| Option | 💰 Cost ($) | ⏱️ Time to Implement | 📈 ROI (12mo) | ⚙️ Internal Effort | 😊 Customer Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reinvest in Marketing | 50,000 | 1 month | 1.3x | Medium | Mixed |
| Reposition the Product | 30,000 | 2 months | 1.5x | Medium | Mixed |
| Bundle with Other Products | 20,000 | 1 month | 1.4x | Low | Positive |
| Sunset the Product | 10,000 | 3 months | 2.0x* | Low | Negative/Mixed |
| Pivot Development Focus | 120,000 | 6 months | 2.5x* | High | Positive |
*Assumes successful implementation and market fit.
Need More Help?
Ready to move forward? Quick Create is always available from your workspace homepage—just look for the “New Confab” button.