In short
Fill the first six fields when the decision is made and the last two when you check the result. The value shows after a few months: you see which assumptions held and which kinds of decisions keep failing.
What this does not cover. A log does not make decisions better by itself. It makes them checkable.
Fill in a decision record online Download the spreadsheet template (CSV)
The eight fields
ContextWhat is happening and why the decision came up at all.
DecisionWhat exactly was decided, including what was decided not to do.
WhyThe data and assumptions it rests on, and the alternatives considered.
Expected outcomeThe result you expect and the sign by which you will know it worked.
ActionThe concrete steps that follow from the decision.
Owner and dateWho is responsible and when the check happens.
Actual outcomeWhat really happened. Filled in at the check.
LearningWhat the decision taught and what changes next time.
An example entry
Not a client case: an example on a made-up company, to show how the fields read together.
ContextTwice this year a subcontractor’s invoice was paid for work that had not been done yet. Both times it came out only at the reconciliation of the certificates, months later.
DecisionFrom 1 November no subcontractor invoice goes for payment without quantities signed off by the site manager. Old invoices are not reopened.
WhyThe site manager’s signature holds a payment up by a day or two. The two payments for work not yet done cost tens of thousands of euros and months of reconciliation.
Expected outcomeNo invoice paid without the site manager’s signature. No crew leaves a site because a payment is late.
ActionTell the crews and the administrators before 1 November. Add a column “quantities signed off by the site manager” to the invoice register. Every Friday, look through the list of unsigned invoices.
Owner and dateThe chief engineer, review on 15 January.
Actual outcomeFilled in on 15 January.
LearningFilled in on 15 January.
How to keep it alive
- Keep it where decisions are made, in a shared table, not in a separate system.
- One line per decision, not an essay.
- Look through open entries once a week: ten minutes.
- A decision without an owner and a review date is not finished yet.