A decision record template that holds up

Most decision documents record the outcome and lose the reasoning. This template captures both — in a form that still makes sense a year later, to someone who wasn’t there.

The template

Field-by-field guidance

The decision

Write the call as an instruction to the future, not minutes of the past. “Consolidate on one cloud; exit the second provider at renewal” can be executed. “We discussed cloud strategy” cannot.

Why now

Decisions are forced by moments — a renewal, an incident, a hire. Record the moment. Without it, every future reader judges the decision against today’s conditions and concludes you were wrong.

Alternatives considered

The most valuable section and the least written. Rejected options — and the reasons — are what stop the organisation from rediscovering them annually. Always include “do nothing” when it was a live option.

Roles

One approver. Frameworks differ on the surrounding cast — RACI, DACI, RAPID, or a deeper model — but a decision with two approvers has none.

Review by

Some decisions are permanent; many are “until conditions change.” Naming the trigger (“revisit at contract renewal”) turns a future argument into a calendar entry.

Make the template enforce itself

A template is only as good as its weakest entry. In Traceway, this structure isn’t a document people fill in — capture drafts it from the conversation you already had, DACERIO routing won’t mark it approved until the accountable person signs, and the record lands on a tamper-evident trail, linked to the goal it serves.