Decision Record
A decision record captures why a research or engineering direction changed. It is useful when a project accumulates experiments, paper reviews, and implementation tradeoffs over time.
A decision can be represented as:
Suggested Shape
- Context: what decision is being made?
- Options: what alternatives were considered?
- Evidence: papers, experiments, constraints, or failures.
- Decision: what option was chosen?
- Consequence: what becomes easier, harder, or deferred?
- Review trigger: what evidence would cause the decision to change?
Use Cases
- Choosing a model family for a prototype.
- Choosing a benchmark or split.
- Choosing a data preparation policy.
- Choosing between batch and online inference.
- Deciding not to pursue a research branch.
Checks
- Is the decision tied to evidence rather than preference?
- Are rejected options recorded fairly?
- Is uncertainty explicit?
- Is the decision public-safe?
- Does it link to the relevant paper, concept, project, or log notes?