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Decision register template
For PMOs, program managers, and operations leads who need an auditable trail of who decided what, and on whose authority. It records the decision rights and the impact on scope, cost, and schedule that a governance review asks for first.
When to use this template
- A steering committee, board, or change board makes decisions that others must be able to trace later.
- Decision rights are delegated, and you need to show a decision was made at the right level.
- Decisions change scope, budget, or schedule and have to reconcile with the change log and the plan.
- An audit, a handover, or a dispute is likely, and “we agreed that in a meeting” will not be enough.
The 13 fields
- Decision ID
- A stable reference, such as DR-042, used in minutes, change requests, and reports.
- Date
- The date the decision took effect, as YYYY-MM-DD.
- Decision
- One sentence stating what was decided, specific enough that two readers would act the same way.
- Decided by
- The named person or body that made the call, such as the program board or the sponsor.
- Authority
- The delegation that allowed it: the terms of reference, a spend threshold, or a policy clause.
- Stakeholders consulted
- Who gave input before the decision, and who was informed after it.
- Rationale
- The evidence and constraints that made this option right, and the main option rejected.
- Impact on scope
- What is now in or out of scope as a result.
- Impact on cost
- The change to budget or forecast, with the figure and the currency.
- Impact on schedule
- The change to milestones or the end date, in days or weeks.
- Status
- Proposed, approved, implemented, superseded, or reversed.
- Review date
- When the decision will be checked against its expected effect, or sooner if an assumption changes.
- Link to evidence
- Where the paper, minutes, or approval sits. Link to it; do not paste it.
How to use it
- 1
Agree what earns an entry
Log decisions that change scope, cost, schedule, risk, or a commitment to a third party. Everything else belongs in minutes, not the register.
- 2
Name the authority, not only the person
Record the delegation that made the decision valid. When a decision is challenged later, this is usually the first question.
- 3
Cross-reference instead of copying
Link each entry to the change request, the risk it closes, and the minutes where it was made. The register is the index. The evidence stays where it lives.
- 4
Review at a fixed rhythm
At each board or steering meeting, walk the entries whose review date has passed. Mark each one as holding, superseded, or reversed.
Illustrative example: a register entry at Norhaven Water, an invented utility
- Decision ID
- DR-042
- Decision
- Move the customer portal release from July to October so the billing migration can finish first.
- Decided by
- Program board, chaired by the sponsor
- Authority
- Board terms of reference, section 4: schedule changes over four weeks need board approval.
- Stakeholders consulted
- Billing lead, customer service manager, and the portal vendor. Finance was informed after the meeting.
- Impact on cost
- $38,000 for extended vendor support, covered by the program contingency.
- Impact on schedule
- Portal go-live moves 12 weeks, from July 14 to October 6.
- Status
- Approved