Keep a business project decision log

A decision log is a short record of a business choice and the reason behind it. It helps a colleague understand which questions are settled, which remain open and who must decide the next one. Start with decisions that affect the work: which location is included, which process will change, or which supplier clarification is still needed. A meeting note saying that an option was discussed is not evidence that it was selected.

Write the question before recording the answer

Make each entry about one decision. “Equipment project” is a subject; “Will the existing work area stay in use during installation?” is a decision question. A precise question helps the team identify the evidence it needs. It also prevents a narrow choice from being mistaken for permission to proceed with the whole project.

Record the current status in words: open, proposed, decided or reopened. Add the date of the latest review. If a colleague has recommended an option but the responsible person has not decided, leave the status as proposed. The log describes the business's actual process; it does not create decision-making authority.

Preserve the reason and the evidence together

For a decided item, record the choice, the responsible business role and the evidence considered. Point to the specific quote version, operating note or site review in the private records system. Avoid copying an entire document into the log. A brief explanation should say which constraint mattered and which alternatives were considered.

For example, “use the existing delivery entrance” is incomplete. A more useful note says that the operations coordinator selected that route after reviewing the current site plan, while the supplier still needs to confirm its delivery requirements. This captures the internal choice and the unresolved external question separately.

Add a condition that would reopen the decision

Some decisions rest on facts that may change. Record the fact and a review trigger: a changed equipment model, a revised access plan or a supplier response that conflicts with the assumed sequence. A review trigger is not a prediction that the project will fail. It tells the next coordinator when an old decision may no longer fit the situation.

When the trigger occurs, mark the entry reopened and add the new evidence. Keep the earlier reasoning visible. Do not overwrite the history so that an old choice appears to have been made using information that arrived later.

Use a small entry that answers the practical questions

Keep these fields together in a private note:

• Question: What choice needs to be made?
• Status: Is it open, proposed, decided or reopened?
• Evidence: Which current records support the discussion?
• Decision and reason: What was chosen, by which business role, and why?
• Next check: What remains unresolved, and what would require another review?

Use business roles in a copy intended for wider circulation. Keep personal contact details and confidential source files in the approved records system. A project log usually needs references to those records, rather than every detail they contain.

Illustrative example: a workshop keeps a decision open

A fictional workshop is comparing two locations for a new workbench. The team prefers the rear area because it fits its ordinary workflow. The current drawing does not show the delivery route clearly, so the coordinator records the rear area as proposed and asks for a site check. The next meeting confirms the route and changes the status to decided. Later, a larger bench is proposed. That change reopens the location question instead of silently carrying the old choice forward.

The example records an internal project decision only. It does not establish that an installer, property owner or other outside party has approved the work.

Use the log at the next handover

Review open and reopened entries before describing the project as ready. If responsibility changes, include the log in the coordinator handover. Give the next person the current evidence references and the unresolved questions, rather than a collection of conclusions without context.

The decision-log format above is an original Merchant Dash preparation framework. For the broader business plan, the SBA's planning guidance describes organizing the business, its activities and its responsibilities. The log supplements that planning work; it does not replace formal business approvals or an individual provider's requirements.