Write a decision you can review later

Preserve the reasoning

A decision meeting produces a choice. A decision record preserves why that choice made sense.

Without the reasoning, a later team can mistake a temporary constraint for a permanent principle. It can also repeat an evaluation that the organization already completed.

AWS describes architectural decision records as a way to document decisions and their context. The same concise structure can help with an AI development operating model. Keep the record small enough that the responsible people will read it.

Compare realistic alternatives

A fictional company needs to maintain its contract application. It considers three options:

Use the same application scope, time period, data assumptions, and service expectations. Avoid comparing a mature purchased service with only the prototype cost of an internal system.

A combination can also be appropriate. An existing platform may supply environments and deployment while a software factory coordinates development. Explain the interface and ownership instead of forcing an artificial all-or-nothing choice.

Write six parts

1. Context. State the problem and the consequence of leaving it unchanged.
2. Requirements. List the conditions an option must satisfy.
3. Alternatives. Record the serious options and their main tradeoffs.
4. Evidence. Link evaluations, cost assumptions, and unresolved questions.
5. Decision. Name the selected option, scope, owner, and accepted limits.
6. Review. Define the date or observable event that requires reassessment.

Distinguish what you observed from what you expect. “The evaluation completed this maintenance change” is an observation. “The service will halve annual maintenance cost” is a forecast that needs evidence and explicit assumptions.

Include the strongest objection

For the contract application, a purchased service may reduce integration work but create a dependency on an external provider. Record that objection and the export exercise that addresses part of it. Do not remove the objection because the team prefers the option.

State which unresolved items block activation. Assign the rest to owners with dates. A decision to proceed does not turn an unanswered control question into a verified result.

Review the record when requirements or evidence change. Add a new decision when the choice changes, and preserve the earlier reasoning. Continue to practical Taiga scenarios to apply these principles to product workflows.