Decision Log

A formal, well-structured and documented record of decisions taken. This might be for an action carried out or proposed, outcomes within a meeting, for something that affects a process, key performance indicators, or as part of a project or work programme.

It will identify who was accountable for the decision as well as who is responsible and accountable for carrying out the desired action.

A decision log can help others better understand the reasoning behind a decision made. This will also provide for a more open and transparent trail to be followed to help improve the effectiveness of future decisions.

Some of the core features of a decision log will include:
1. When the decision was made. This will include the date and maybe the time as well, especially in fast moving environments where many decisions might be made during a day.
2. Who made the decision (which may be a group of individuals following a vote)?
3. Why the decision was needed. This will identify the issues, problems or requirements that arose that required a decision to be made.
4. What were the options that were considered before the final decision was arrived at? For grounds management situations this might include costs, timescale, urgency, availability of resources, impact on the environment, impact on sustainability, impact on playability and sward quality, quality of a product, support provided for a product, and how much reliance was made on any impartial independent research (in contrast to that carried out by an organisation manufacturing a product).
5. What was the detailed reasoning for the decision that was selected for actioning, including the benefits and limitations of the outcome/s from the decision and when contrasted with the other options?
6. The decision status, which might be identified as ongoing / pending; agreed / approved for actioning (with a date for implementation) or implemented / in progress.
7. Decision review date to assess the effectiveness of the decision. This would, including comments for future improvements, which might then be addressed in another decision log. An example of the review of a decision could be that of the effectiveness of a fertiliser programme and how this impacted on playing performance standards, impact on mowing requirements, as well as its influence on the quality of a sward over a 6 to 12-month period. The outcome of the review would provide valuable information to influence the subsequent year’s fertiliser programme.

The detailing of decisions made can help to develop processes and outcomes that make the best use of available resources. Arguably though, a decision log can help improve the confidence of a grounds manager in better supporting them in making the right decision for their grounds and being able to better communicate to management boards and stakeholders the objective process undertaken for decisions made.