Keep a Small Decision Note
Record consequential decisions with their context, alternatives, evidence, and a trigger for reconsideration.
Learn
The question
Will someone understand why this choice was reasonable later?
Do this
- Write the constraint and evidence that mattered at the time.
- Name the best rejected alternative, not a straw man.
- Add a measurable condition that would make the decision stale.
Example
- Decision: keep search in PostgreSQL. Evidence: 20k products and a measured 35 ms prefix query. Revisit when relevance requirements change or p95 exceeds 150 ms.
Ask next
- ?What evidence supported this?
- ?What did we trade away?
- ?Which signal should trigger a review?