Knowledge MaxxingDecision record
A decision record documents a specific choice made during a system's design or deployment, along with the reasoning and alternatives considered at the time.
Prerequisite: System card
What matters
Recording the reasoning behind a decision lets a later reviewer understand why a choice was made, rather than only seeing its outcome without any context for why it happened.
Example
A decision record might note that a team chose a lower-accuracy but more interpretable model specifically because the deployment required explainable individual decisions.
Common misconception
A decision record is not just a log of what was decided; its real value comes from also capturing why, including alternatives that were considered and rejected.
Recall question
Why does a decision record need to capture the reasoning, not just the final choice?