Keep a record of significant decisions that have been made or are in progress.
This website and the repo behind it contains a record of significant decisions. Whenever appropriate, decision records are backdated to the date when the decision was made.
The format is minimal, avoiding patterns more suited to larger organizations while still recognizing the motivating problem. Notably, decisions aren’t numbered (what would be the numbering scheme?) and anything can be edited at any time (the history is in the repo).
Pros#
- Decision records can provide background for new team members.
- Decision records can provide clarity about past decisions.
- Decision records can uncover gaps in understanding and areas needing more consideration.
Cons#
- It’s work to initially build (whew) and maintain.
- A useful structure is unclear.