Decision Log

Record decisions (and why) so the team has a single source of truth and stops relitigating settled questions.

When to use

• A meaningful decision was made (technical, product, process, scope, prioritization).
• Writing or maintaining a decision log / ADR (Architecture/Any Decision Record) set.

Inputs to gather

• The decision itself, in one sentence.
• The context/problem that forced a choice.
• Options considered and why the chosen one won (and others lost).
• Who decided, who was consulted, and the date.

Process

1. State the decision as a clear, active sentence ("We will ...").
2. Capture context — what made this necessary, constraints, deadline.
3. List options considered with the key trade-off of each, and mark the chosen one.
4. Give the rationale — why this option, including what you're explicitly accepting as a downside.
5. Note status (Proposed / Accepted / Superseded), decider, stakeholders consulted, and date.
6. Record consequences / follow-ups and link any decision this supersedes.

Output format — one record per decision

### {{ID}}: {{Decision title}}
- **Status:** Accepted · **Date:** {{date}} · **Decider:** {{name}} · **Consulted:** {{names}}
- **Context:** {{why a decision was needed}}
- **Decision:** We will {{decision}}.
- **Options considered:**
  - {{Option A}} — {{trade-off}}  ✅ chosen
  - {{Option B}} — {{trade-off}}
- **Rationale:** {{why, including accepted downsides}}
- **Consequences / follow-ups:** {{what changes; tasks created}}

Keep records append-only: supersede rather than edit history.