Decision Log

Phase: Execution | Audience: Internal | Project: WEB-2026-01 Corporate Website Development

Understand it first

In simple words: The Decision Log records important decisions, the options considered, the reason and who decided, so nobody has to rely on memory later.

Think of it like: Writing in a diary: 'We chose Goa over Manali because flights were cheaper; decided by Dad on 10 May.'

When is it created?	Execution, whenever a key decision is made
Who prepares it?	Project Manager
Who approves or uses it?	Internal record
What happens next?	Referenced when anyone asks 'why did we do this?'

How it connects to other documents

Decisions come from meetings in the Minutes of Meeting.
Change decisions come from the Change Request Log.
Purchase choices over ₹10,000 are recorded as per the Procurement Plan.

The sample document

Below is the actual document for project WEB-2026-01. Read the purpose first, then go through each numbered section.

Issued by: [Your Company] Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Purpose: Key project decisions, who made them, the options considered and why, so nobody has to rely on memory later.

Item	Detail
Document no.	WEB-2026-01/DL
Version	1.0
Date	6 Nov 2026
Owner	Project Manager
Audience	Internal
Phase	Execution

1. Log

ID	Date	Decision	Options considered	Reason	Decided by
D-01	7 Oct	Use WordPress with a custom theme	WordPress, headless CMS, website builder	Easiest for client's team to edit; fits budget	PM, Backend Developer
D-02	9 Oct	Host on a cloud server in the Mumbai region	Shared hosting, cloud server	Speed for Indian visitors; room to grow	PM, client IT
D-03	29 Oct	Use a transactional email service for forms	Server email, email service	Server email blocked on staging and often lands in spam	Backend Developer
D-04	30 Oct	Absorb the extra home page rework within round 2	Bill a third round, absorb	Protect design sign-off date and client relationship	PM, Delivery Head
D-05	6 Nov	Approve Careers page as CR-001	Approve, reject, defer	Small, billable, no schedule impact	Head of Marketing
D-06	6 Nov	Defer Hindi version to a phase 2 project	Add now, defer	Would move go-live by 3 weeks	Head of Marketing

WEB-2026-01/DL · v1.0 · Internal. Bracketed items such as [Client Name] are placeholders.

Key takeaways

Record why, not just what.
Note who made the decision.
Short entries are enough; consistency matters more.

Common mistakes to avoid

Only recording decisions when something goes wrong.
No reason recorded.
Keeping decisions in chat messages only.

Next lesson: 29. Timesheets