Decision Navigator Platform
From data to defensible capital decisions
Decision Navigator is a structured methodology, delivered as an advisory service today, evolving into a full software platform that helps electric utilities move from fragmented asset and other data to confident, board-ready capital planning decisions.
What we deliver
A hybrid of advisory expertise and structured platform tools
Decision Navigator is not a black-box algorithm. It is a practitioner-built methodology shaped by real-world experience across multiple utilities delivered today as an active engagement, and being hardened into a repeatable software platform.
01
Defensible Engineering Analytics
Moving from 'informed guesses' to data-grounded asset health and risk models built on utility-specific engineering parameters.
03
Portfolio Prioritization
Optimized capital plans that account for constraints like budget, supply chain, labor availability, and system safety priorities simultaneously.
02
A Common Decision Language
A structured framework that aligns engineering, finance, and executive leadership on the value of every capital dollar spent.
04
Strategic Roadmaps
Board-ready investment plans that clearly communicate the 'why' behind specific capital requests and long-term asset strategies.
The Decision Navigator Framework
Five stages. One defensible decision.
A structured, repeatable methodology for moving from raw asset data to capital planning decisions that hold up under scrutiny.
Data Ingestion
Consolidating Fragmented Info
We bridge the gap between GIS, engineering databases, and maintenance logs, creating a unified asset registry that serves as the single source of truth for planning.
Asset Health
Quantifying Condition and Remaining Life
Using engineering-first degradation models, we translate technical inspection data into normalized health scores, making it possible to compare a 40-year-old breaker to a 5-mile segment of conductor.
Risk Modeling
Determining Consequence
Not every asset failure is equal. We model the financial, reliability, and safety consequences of specific asset failures to determine the true risk exposure. Models are adapted to your system topology, load criticality, enviornmental sensitivity, and regulatory environment.Â
Portfolio Prioritization
Balancing Constraints
Budget, supply chain and manpower are limited. Decision Navigator runs several scenarios to find the prioritized optimal mix of projects that maximizes risk reduction within your specific capital and operational constraints. Decisions are portfolio-level, not asset by asset.Â
Defensible Decisions
Securing Board Approval
The output is a clear, data-backed investment plan that clearly demonstrates why these specific investments were chosen leaving utility leaders with a plan that is defensible to regulators and boards alike.
2026 Pilot Program
Become a founding utility partner
This year, SPS Institute is partnering with a small number of public utilities for proof-of-concept engagements. Pilot partners get access to the Decision Navigator methodology today and a direct role in shaping the full platform.
Direct access to SPS Founder
Proof-of-Concept Engagement
Shape the Platform
Work directly with Venkata Subbaiah Pasupulati to apply the Decision Navigator methodology to your specific capital planning challenges.
A rapid, high-impact engagement designed to prove the value of defensible, data-informed, and risk-informed decision-making within your organization.
Your feedback and real-world asset challenges will directly influence the development of the Decision Navigator software platform.
The right partner profile
We are seeking forward-thinking public utility leaders who are ready to move beyond fragmented spreadsheets and legacy processes toward a modern, data-driven approach to infrastructure investment.
✓ Facing capital scarcity or regulatory pressure
✓ Manage critical aging infrastructure
✓ Willing to provide feedback on platform features
✓ Active commitment to improving asset data quality
✓ Looking for defensible, transparent methodology
VSP
Built by a practitioner
tHe Experience ThAT SHapes the Workshop
Venkata Subbaiah Pasupulati
Founder & Director, SPS Institute
20+ years of utility infrastructure experience — in the work, not on the sidelines
Venkata Subbaiah Pasupulati is a recognized expert in electric utility asset management, with over two decades of experience spanning engineering, operational leadership, and strategic advisory.
His career has been defined by a deep commitment to translating complex engineering data into clear, defensible business cases for capital investment. He has worked directly with public and private utilities to harden their asset health modeling and risk prioritization frameworks.
Before founding SPS Institute, Venkata held senior roles where he oversaw multi-million dollar capital portfolios. He saw firsthand the disconnect between fragmented technical data and the executive-level confidence required for board-ready planning.
Decision Navigator is the culmination of that experience—a structured methodology designed to give utility leaders the tools they need to make defensible decisions in an increasingly constrained capital environment.
"The challenge for modernize utilities isn't a lack of data—it's the lack of a structured path to turn that data into a defensible capital plan.
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The goal at SPS Institute is to make that structured approach available to utilities that don't have a $500 M capital budget but face the same fundamental decisions"
Asset Management Professional
PEÂ PMPÂ MSEEÂ MBA
Systems Thinking Practitioner
Framework alignment
ISO 55000 Asset Management Principles
Institute of Asset Management
Systems Thinking         (Deming · Goldratt)
Management by Results (Drucker)