Make the direction and its effect easy to follow
A useful decision record explains the question, context, chosen direction, rationale, and affected work.
Record a decision when the team has chosen a direction that affects the engagement’s scope, sequence, or interpretation. Include enough context for a contributor who missed the discussion to understand what was considered and why.
Keep unresolved questions distinct from chosen directions. If a decision changes the work, reflect its effect in the scope and delivery references so the team works from the same picture.
Completed example: keep the review focused
Fictional scope clarification for the Northstar onboarding review.
| Decision detail | Recorded example |
|---|---|
| Question | Does a request to redesign a separate client system belong in this review? |
| Context | The request arose during a discussion of the current onboarding journey. |
| Direction | Keep this review focused on documenting the current onboarding journey; discuss system redesign separately. |
| Rationale | The stated review boundary covers the current journey and findings, not redesign or implementation of a separate system. |
| Effect on work | Continue documenting relevant onboarding observations. Do not add redesign tasks to this review sequence. |
Decision or open question?
Use wording that makes the state of the discussion observable.
A decision has a chosen direction
The example identifies a selected boundary and explains why it fits the stated review. A reader can tell what work continues and what is separate.
- State the direction in a sentence that can guide the next work step.
- Tie the rationale to the engagement context.
- Describe which scope or delivery details are affected.
An open question still needs discussion
If the team has not agreed whether a new request changes the engagement, record it as unresolved and identify the appropriate team discussion.
- Write the question without implying approval.
- Capture the context and evidence available so far.
- After direction is agreed, update the decision record and affected references.