Common questions about Decision Records
Understand what decision records are, how the open source and hosted offerings differ, and what security and data handling support is available.
What are decision records?
Decision records are short documents that capture an important organisational decision, the context in which it was made, and the reasoning behind it. They focus on why a decision was taken, not just what was decided. Decision records help teams preserve context over time and avoid repeating the same discussions.
Why should organisations document decisions?
Organisations document decisions to retain shared understanding as teams grow and change. When decisions are not recorded, context is lost and teams are forced to re-evaluate past choices. Documenting decisions improves communication, onboarding, and collaboration across teams.
What types of decisions are worth recording?
Any decision that affects how a team works, builds, prices, operates, or communicates is worth recording. This includes product decisions, business strategy, hiring approaches, tooling choices, and operational trade-offs. The goal is not to record everything, but to record decisions that others will need to understand later.
How are decision records different from documentation or wikis?
Documentation explains how things work today. Decision records explain why things were set up that way. Wikis often change over time, while decision records preserve historical context even when decisions are later revisited or reversed.
Who should use decision records?
Decision records are useful for startups, growing teams, and established organisations across all functions. They are not limited to technical teams. Anyone involved in making or relying on decisions can benefit from shared decision memory.
What is DecisionRecords.org?
DecisionRecords.org is a platform that helps organisations capture, store, and share important decisions with context. It provides long-term decision memory so teams can easily understand past choices and communicate them across the organisation.
Is DecisionRecords.org a documentation tool?
No. DecisionRecords.org is focused specifically on decisions, not general documentation. It complements existing tools by providing a dedicated place for decision context and reasoning.
How much detail should a decision record include?
A decision record should include enough context for someone unfamiliar with the situation to understand the reasoning. It should be concise, but complete. The aim is clarity, not exhaustive detail.
Can decision records change over time?
Yes. Decisions can be revisited or superseded, but the original context should remain accessible. DecisionRecords.org preserves decision history so organisations can see how and why choices evolved.
How do I organise decisions in DecisionRecords.org?
Decisions are organised into Spaces, which represent logical groupings such as projects, teams, or departments. Each Space can have its own set of decisions, making it easy to find and manage related records. You can create as many Spaces as your organisation needs.