Define the actual decision
Begin with the question that needed answering. “Improve filing” is an initiative; “Which folder will hold the approved version?” is a specific decision. Record the date and the person or group authorized to make it.
State the chosen solution in an unambiguous sentence and define its scope. A rule for one project should not later be mistaken for a company-wide instruction. Explicitly identify a time-limited trial where that is the intention.
Record reasons and alternatives briefly
Name the decisive reasons rather than every remark made in discussion. Perhaps an existing folder was chosen because everyone already had access and the project was short. These reasons help people assess whether the decision still fits later.
Mention serious alternatives and why they were rejected where that helps future questions. An exhaustive collection of discarded ideas is rarely needed. The useful alternative is the one that would otherwise restart the same discussion whenever someone new joins.
Name a reason to reconsider
Some decisions should be reviewed when team size, data volume or requirements change. Record that trigger rather than automatically assigning an arbitrary expiry date. For a trial, a specific evaluation date may make more sense.
Connect later changes to the previous note. Do not silently overwrite the earlier reasoning. People can then understand why a sensible choice at the time was eventually replaced. The note is not intended to make decisions permanent, but to keep their development understandable.
Store it where affected people would look and use a title naming the subject. A file called “new decision” is harder to find than a note identifying the project and question, especially when several related decisions have accumulated over time.
