Question
Should the team clarify its current handoff note or try a small shared format for one recurring request?
Decide with
the reasoning
in view.
Practical material for people who need to explain a recommendation. Make the question precise, show the trade-offs, and leave a decision record that another person can actually use.
Use the decision guide- Frame the question.Name what needs to be chosen.
- Compare the options.Use the same criteria for each.
- Record the choice.Keep its reasons and a review point.
01
A worked example / The team handoff
Find the decision
inside the discussion.
“We need a better process” can contain several choices at once. A useful first move is to name the particular handoff that needs attention and the difference a change should make.
In this working example, a team is considering how to make unfinished requests easier for the next person to understand. The choice concerns the handoff, rather than a complete redesign of the team's work.
The decision brief
Desired difference
The next person can identify the request, its current state, and the question that remains open.
Boundary
Keep existing responsibilities and tools in view. Examine one handoff before proposing a wider change.
02
A comparison that exposes the trade-offs
Use the same questions
for each option.
A preferred idea becomes easier to assess when it faces the same criteria as its alternatives. Include keeping the current approach when it is a meaningful option.
| Criterion | Clarify the current note | Try a shared format | Evidence to gather |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visibility | Can the existing note make the open question easier to locate? | Would a common structure make missing information easier to notice? | Read a few recent handoffs with the receiving role. |
| Ownership | Who keeps the note current when the request changes? | Who would maintain the shared version and resolve conflicting updates? | Identify the actual owner of each state change. |
| Effort | What explanation or guidance would the current approach need? | What extra preparation and upkeep would the format create? | Walk through one ordinary request with each option. |
| Reversibility | Can the wording be revised without disturbing other work? | Can the trial stop or change after a small number of uses? | Agree on the scope and the review point before a trial. |
Keep observations separate from predictions. If the comparison depends on an assumption, name it and identify what would help test it.
03 / Make the recommendation usable
Keep the choice
with its reasons.
A decision record should help someone act and help a later reader understand why the choice made sense with the information available.
- The recommendation
- State the option, its scope, and who needs to agree or act. Avoid making a small trial sound like an irreversible organisation-wide commitment.
- The basis
- Name the criteria that mattered most, the evidence supporting the choice, and the trade-off the recommendation accepts.
- The open assumption
- Record the uncertainty that could change the comparison. Attach a way to investigate it rather than hiding it in a confident summary.
- The review point
- Choose the event, observation, or agreed moment that will bring the decision back for examination. Name who will gather the relevant information.
04 / Keep the reasoning open to evidence
What would
change our mind?
A review works best when the team knows what it is looking for. Decide how new information could confirm, narrow, or overturn the original recommendation.
Prepare a useful reviewDid the intended difference become visible?
Return to the original question. Look for the part of the work the decision was supposed to improve before discussing unrelated benefits.
Which assumption proved unreliable?
Distinguish a weak assumption from a change in circumstances. Each may call for a different response.
What is the smallest useful adjustment?
A review can lead to a clearer instruction, a narrower scope, another trial, or a decision to stop. Keep the next move tied to the evidence.
A clearer recommendation
starts with a clearer question.
Use the field guide to work through one actual decision, from the initial brief to the point when it should be reviewed.