Decision record template

When to use

Use this for decisions that will be revisited: process changes, tool selection, policy interpretations, or roadmap choices.

Template

Fill this in with facts you know. If you ask AI to draft it, verify every claim.

Decision Record

Title:
Date:
Owner:
Audience:

Context:
- What problem are we solving?

Options considered:
1)
2)
3)

Decision:
- What are we doing?

Rationale:
- Why this option?

Tradeoffs:
- What we gain / what we give up

Risks & mitigations:
- Risk:
  Mitigation:

Next steps:
- Action / Owner / Due date

Common failure mode

Records fail when they skip options and tradeoffs. Those sections are what make the record useful later.