Decision RecordsThe Decision Record is the polished, frozen, shareable output of a Decided Business Question. It is created when the user commits a decision and becomes an immutable artifact for audit and reference.BQ vs Decision RecordIt's important to understand the distinction:
Business Question (BQ): The work — the process of defining, analyzing, and deciding. Editable during the workflow. Contains working notes, draft constraints, and iterative analysis.
Decision Record: The receipt — the shareable, frozen artifact. Read-only after commitment. Contains the final, approved decision with evidence and rationale.
Mental model: BQ = the messy work. Decision Record = the clean output you show the VP.Decision Record ContentsA committed Decision Record contains:Header Section
Title: Carried from the Business Question
Status badge: Active, Superseded, or Withdrawn
Decided date: When the decision was committed
Decided by: The accountable owner
Time to decision: Duration from BQ creation to commitment
Question Section
The original Business Question (locked)
Description/context from the ASK phase
Constraints Section
All constraints as they existed at commitment
"Locked" badges indicating immutability
Constraint types: Scope, Timeframe, Data Rules, Compliance, Stakeholder
Evidence Summary
Checks passed (with counts: X pass / Y warn / Z fail)
Confidence levels from validation
Linked queries and saved insights
Key data findings
Approval Chain
Timeline showing all approvals
Who approved, when, with what comments
Answer (Validate) approval highlighted as non-delegable
Answer Section
Decision Statement: The committed action/outcome
Owner: Who is accountable
Confidence: Level or percentage
Rationale: Why this decision, given the evidence
Linked Data Asset
Asset name and description
Row count and freshness
Source lineage (what sources this asset derived from)
Quick link to asset page
Related Decisions
References: Decisions cited as precedent/context
Supersedes: Decisions this one replaces
Superseded by: Link to the decision that replaced this one (if applicable)
Decision Record StatusesActiveThe current, valid decision. Green badge. Full functionality available (share, reference, etc.).SupersededReplaced by a newer decision via the "Correct This Decision" flow. Amber badge. Shows:
"Superseded by [new decision title]" banner
Link to the replacement decision
Read-only (cannot be activated or corrected again)
WithdrawnExplicitly retracted with a mandatory reason. Red badge. Shows:
Withdrawal reason inline
Who withdrew and when
Greyed out visually in the ledger
ACTIVATE canvas shows withdrawal notice instead of full record
Withdrawal is irreversible in v1 (prevents accidental reactivation of bad decisions).Sharing Decision RecordsDecision Records can be shared without exposing the working BQ:
Copy Link: Direct URL that opens the record
Slack: Post to configured channels
Email: Send to stakeholders
Download PDF: For offline/archival use
Recipients see the frozen record only — no ability to edit, no access to the working BQ, no visibility into iterative analysis.Decision Records IndexThe global /decisions route shows all Decision Records:
Sortable by date, confidence, owner
Filter by status (Active, Superseded, Withdrawn)
Search powered by MiniSearch (question title, decision statement, constraints, rationale)
Export as JSON (full records) or CSV (summary)
Decision Network (DAG)Decision Records form a directed acyclic graph via edges:
References edges: "This decision cites that one as context" (blue/grey)
Supersedes edges: "This decision replaces that one" (red/amber)
The Decision Network Graph in the Question Debt Dashboard visualizes this DAG:
Nodes sized by reference count (more cited = bigger)
Edge colors by type
Node colors by domain tag, status, or age (toggle)
Click node for quick preview card
Immutability and AuditDecision Records are immutable by design:
No edits to statement, constraints, evidence, or answer
Full audit trail preserved
Changes create new records via correction flow
Withdrawal preserves the record with status change
This immutability is what makes Decision Records defensible for compliance, legal, and stakeholder trust.