Record header
Business or team:
Workflow this decision sits beside:
Where this record lives (sheet, ticket, pinned note, folder):
Record owner (who keeps it current):
Date written:
What was decided
Write the decision in one or two plain sentences. Say what people may do, what they must not do, and what still needs a named person.
Decision:
Scope (which jobs, clients or situations this covers):
Out of scope (what this does not cover):
Why and trade-offs
Context (what problem or repeated question led to this):
Options considered (at least two, in plain words):
Trade-offs accepted (what you gain and what you give up):
Who decided and when
Decided by (named person):
Date of decision:
Who else needs to know:
When to revisit
Revisit date (required for any reversible choice that affects customers or money):
Earlier revisit triggers (for example a missed review, a client complaint, a rule that no longer fits):
Stop rules
- Do not leave a decision only in chat, a meeting or one person’s head. If it changes how work runs, write it beside the work.
- Do not invent volumes, error rates or how often something happens. If you have not measured it, say so or leave it blank.
- Every reversible choice that affects customers or money needs a revisit date and a named owner. Without those, do not treat the record as finished.
- If the decision touches filings, client advice, money, privacy or a promise to a client, the named owner confirms it before the team treats it as the rule.