Practical working guide
A client meeting decision log that separates discussion from approval
A useful meeting decision log records the decision, who made it, the evidence and the action it authorises. Keep discussion, proposals and unresolved questions in separate states. A meeting note should not turn a suggestion into approved scope merely because nobody objected in the room.
Write decisions as traceable records
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Decision ID and subject | D-08: proposed finish change |
| Status | Proposed; awaiting named approver |
| Evidence | Meeting date, option document and confirmation reference |
| Consequence | No order until approval; coordinator follows up |
| Supersedes | Earlier decision reference, if explicitly replaced |
A worked correction
Fictional example: a designer writes “customer approved blue” after a discussion of two colour options. The customer’s approver was absent. Correct the entry to “blue preferred by attendees; approval pending”, name the approver and ask for confirmation against the actual sample reference. Retain the correction history. Do not order the material while presenting a preference as final approval.
Send a short decision recap
Send confirmed decisions first, then pending decisions with owners and dates, then actions. Invite corrections to factual meeting notes without declaring silence to be approval. Link each action to the relevant decision or open question. At the next meeting, review unresolved decisions rather than copying the entire previous minutes. Use a separate scope-change record when the decision affects accepted work.
If a later meeting reverses a decision, create a new reference and mark the earlier entry as superseded. Keep both records, their dates and the resulting task changes visible.