Decision records: who decided what, and why
The invoice for moving a floor drain in the level 1 kitchen reaches the owner's desk, and the owner's project manager rejects it: nobody on their side approved a change. You remember the meeting where the consultant chose the new location. The minutes say "drain location discussed".
Decisions on a job are made in meetings, on site walks and in phone calls, and most leave no trace beyond an action item. Months later the question is rarely what was built — the photos show that — but who chose it, what else was considered, and why. Minutes record a discussion; a decision record captures the answer in a form that can be found and quoted.
What a decision record holds
- Write the question in one sentence: "Where does floor drain FD-3 go, now that the prep sink has moved?"
- List the options considered, each with its main effect on cost, time or quality.
- State the decision so a crew could build from it, with the drawing, sketch or RFI it refers to.
- Name who decided, with their role, and who else was present or consulted.
- Record the reason given at the time, in a sentence or two.
- Note the effect and the next paperwork: cost, schedule, which documents change, and whether a change order, RFI response or site instruction follows, with a date.
- Number, file and send it: number it (D-014), file it in the project and send it to everyone affected the same day.
Common mistakes
- Recording the outcome without the question, so nobody can tell what was decided against.
- Writing "agreed on site" with no name.
- Editing an old decision instead of writing a new one that refers to it.
- Keeping decisions only in minutes, buried among forty other items.
Checklist
Before the meeting ends
- The question, in one sentence
- The options, with their main effects
- The decision, with its drawing or sketch
- Who decided, by name and role
- The reason they gave
- Effect on cost, time and documents, and the next paperwork
- Numbered, filed and sent today
Check your understanding
Why record the options that were rejected, and not just the one chosen?
Show the answer
The rejected options show what the decision-maker knew and what they traded away. If the chosen option later costs money or time, the record shows it was chosen knowingly and for a reason. It also stops someone who was not in the room from reopening the same question.
