Decision log: keep the why, not just the choice
A decision log is a findable record of what you decided, why, what you rejected, and what happened after. Meeting notes capture the conversation. A decision log captures the outcome you will still need in six months.
If you have ever asked “why are we on monthly billing?” and gotten a shrug, you do not have a decision log. You have chat history.
Why Slack and docs fail
The decision was real. The reasoning lived in a thread, a call, or someone’s head. Three months later the constraints have changed - or nobody remembers them - so the debate starts over.
Spreadsheets and Notion tables work until someone forgets to add a row. Purpose-built “decision tools” help teams that will maintain a form. Most founders and small product teams will not.
The missing piece is usually capture at the moment of the call, then a place you can ask later.
What to write (and what to skip)
Log a decision if reversing it in three months would cost more than a week. Pricing model, architecture, “we will not build X,” a hire-or-not, a kill. Skip the daily triage.
A useful entry is short:
- Decision - the choice, in one sentence.
- Context - what was true that day.
- Options - what you rejected, and why.
- Why this - the actual reason, not the slide version.
- Outcome - fill this in after you ship or wait. A log without outcomes is a diary.
You do not need a template to start. You need the habit: write it that day.
If you want the table, use the decision log template.
How Scribble Flow holds a decision log
Scribble Flow is not a meeting notetaker and not an ADR governance product. It is a desk: capture the messy thought, then turn the ones that matter into a decision in Memory.
- Capture the thread, voice note, or “we picked monthly because…” with
Cmd/Ctrl+K. Do not file it. - In Inbox, turn it into a decision.
- Later, ask Memory: Why did I pick monthly billing? The answer comes back with sources. It is still a suggestion you can check.
Alex, the founder in the founders track, does this when second-guessing the billing model. Priya does it when choosing a queue library. Jordan does it when a customer quote changes the roadmap.
After you ship, add one line on the outcome next to the work. The log now includes whether the bet paid off.
A week that actually sticks
- When you decide: one paragraph in Memory, same day.
- When you capture: raw is fine. Convert the decisions in a ten-minute Inbox pass.
- When someone asks “why aren’t we doing X?”: ask Memory first.
Read Start here for the five-minute first day, or make your desk. Plans are on pricing.
FAQ
Is a decision log the same as meeting notes? No. Notes are for the week. A log is for the year: choice, alternatives, rationale, outcome.
Do I need a spreadsheet? Only if you will update it. Most people will not. Capture first, structure later.
Is Scribble Flow “decision log software”? It is a workspace whose Memory is built for this question. If you need immutable ADR workflows, git, and compliance gates, that is a different product - see engineering decisions.