What Should a Decision Note Preserve?

A decision note can record what was chosen and still leave a future teammate unable to understand why. The missing context might be the constraint that ruled out another option, the evidence available at the time, or a question the team hasn’t resolved yet.

But capture every discussion detail and the note becomes hard to use. The right amount depends on who may need to act on it later—and what they’ll need to distinguish a firm decision from an assumption that could change.

When you document a work decision for someone who wasn’t in the room, what context do you make sure to preserve?