What an official record actually contains
Five things a Decision Record carries that a memo, a deck, and a meeting note never will.
12 Apr 2026 · 6 min read
An official decision record is not a slide deck with an extra appendix. It is a different artefact, with five things a memo never carries.
1. The verdict
Not the recommendation. Not the proposal. The verdict — Go, No-Go, or Conditional Go — ratified by a named committee on a named date.
2. The captured dissent
Disagreement that was voiced in the room and accepted into the record, not only the consensus position. Twelve months later, captured dissent is the single most useful field in the artefact.
3. The conditions
The gating items that make a Conditional Go meaningful: what must be true before the next tranche is released, the partnership becomes exclusive, the launch proceeds.
4. The review trigger
The point in time, or the change in conditions, that re-opens the decision. Not a vague "quarterly review" — a specific event.
5. The owner and sponsor
The named accountable individual for the next step, separate from the sponsoring office. Two names, two roles, persisted with the record.
Stripped of those five things, you have a memo. With them, you have an artefact your future committee can actually use.