Decision log
A document recording an organization's or project's important decisions in chronological order, keeping what was decided and why so it can be referred to later.
A decision log is a document that records, in chronological order, the important decisions made in an organization or project. By keeping not only the decisions themselves but also the situation at the time / the options / the grounds for the judgment, you can later go back and refer to “why it was decided that way.” In software development, a format called the Architecture Decision Record (ADR) is used.
How it differs from meeting minutes
| Item | Meeting minutes | Decision log |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | A record of an individual meeting | Decisions across a project / organization |
| Granularity | Remarks / the flow of discussion | Only decisions and their grounds |
| Searchability | By date | Cross-cutting search by theme / category |
| When it is referred to | Right after the meeting | Months / years later |
| Format | A chronological record of discussion | Structured records with individual IDs |
A decision log template
In an ADR, you create one file per decision and record items like the following.
Decisions that should be kept in a decision log
- Decisions that are costly to reverse later (architecture, contracts)
- Decisions that chose one of several options
- Decisions that affect outside parties
- Decisions involving compliance / security
- Decisions where you may be asked “why did we do that?” 3 months later
The effects of a decision log
Commonly cited effects of a decision log are that “re-discussions that rehash past decisions” decrease, and that new members can trace past background on their own, which speeds up onboarding. On top of that, a point worth keeping in mind is that the organization’s “collective knowledge” accumulates in documents rather than in individuals’ heads.
Cautions in practice
With a decision log, “keeping it in a state where it gets referred to” matters more than “writing it.” As part of meeting follow-up, build the habit of always transferring decisions to the decision log. If you split the flow into two streams, from meeting minutes to the decision log and from action items to a task management tool, both records are easier to follow later.