The Precedent handbook
Write a decision
Turn a choice into a record someone else can understand, check, and revisit. Save a draft while the details are still taking shape.
In the editor, each attached node can apply only locally or include descendants. Workspace admins can choose workspace-wide guidance. Scope changes to confirmed decisions are saved with a revision and change note. Local choices never silently replace ancestor guidance.
Start a draft
- Open your workspace and choose New decision. Members, Approvers and node Admins can create decisions on nodes assigned to their groups. Administrators can create decisions anywhere in the workspace; Viewers have read access.
- If templates are available, choose one under Start from, or choose Blank. A template can add required fields and a default review interval.
- Fill in the Decision statement and Summary. Use a concrete title such as “Use Postgres full-text search for the product catalog”.
- Choose an owner and one or more nodes. Choose a review date or describe a condition that would make the team reconsider. Select Save as draft.
A draft can be incomplete. The confirmation checklist shows what still needs attention. Drafts created by capture or an assistant follow the same confirmation process.
Review capture feedback
After saving, the decision page shows up to three possible overlaps from title search and current decisions with recorded inbound links to those matches. Open each match to compare the reasoning. A match is a suggestion, not a confirmed conflict; unlinked assumptions are not inferred.
If this decision replaces a match, choose Supersede in the feedback panel. The control uses the decision you just saved as the successor. For a draft, complete its checklist first; an authorized owner, assigned-node approver or workspace administrator then provides a reason, confirms it, and replaces the earlier decision in one action. Existing confirmation policy, access, and billing restrictions apply.
Write reasoning people can use
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Decision statement | The choice itself, in one sentence. Avoid titles such as ‘Search discussion’. |
| Summary | What changes, what the decision covers, and any boundaries on it. |
| Rationale | Why this option won. In AR-041, Acme Robotics keeps search in Postgres to avoid operating a second datastore for its current requirements. |
| Alternatives considered | What lost and why. Elasticsearch was considered for AR-041, but its additional operating cost was not justified by the current search needs. |
| Assumptions | What must remain true for the choice to hold, such as the size of the catalog or the search features users need. |
| Owner | The person responsible for answering questions about the decision and reviewing it later. |
| Review trigger | A date or a concrete condition. For example: reconsider when catalog search needs exceed the agreed response-time target. |
Use the Rationale, Alternatives considered, and Assumptions controls to show those fields. They may be required by your chosen template.
Attach evidence and connect decisions
Evidence is added after the first save. Open the draft's Record tab and use the evidence controls to add a URL or upload a supporting file. Keep the material that lets someone check the reasoning, such as a comparison, meeting excerpt, or requirement.
Use Add link under Linked decisions to name another decision by reference. Choose depends_on when this choice relies on it, or affects when this choice changes its context. Use Review decision → Replace (Supersede) to create the successor relationship.
Confirm the decision
- Check that the title, summary, owner, at least one node, and review date or condition are present. Complete any extra requirements from the template, including evidence if required.
- Read the reasoning and evidence. If the draft was created by AI, check it against the original discussion before treating it as the team's choice.
- Choose Confirm decision if you have confirmation authority. Otherwise, leave the draft for its owner, an assigned-node approver or a workspace administrator.
- The status becomes Decided. Share the decision's URL or reference and review it when its trigger fires.
Under the default policy, the owner with a Member role or an assigned-node Approver or Admin can confirm. Under an approver-only policy, an assigned-node Approver or Admin confirms. Administrators can confirm under either policy. Viewer access does not allow confirmation, including for the owner. Billing and checklist requirements still apply.