Tracking Decisions

Tracking Decisions

Why This Matters

PMs make dozens of prioritization calls. Without tracking outcomes, you can't learn which instincts are calibrated. This skill creates a feedback loop: Decision → Expected Outcome → Actual Result → Lesson.

When to Use

• Prioritizing Feature A over Feature B
• Deciding to defer/cut scope
• Choosing between technical approaches
• Making strategic bets in quarterly planning
• Any decision you'd want to revisit in 30-90 days

Process

1. Create Decision Log

Create file: outputs/decisions/YYYY-MM-DD-[short-title].md

2. Fill Decision Template

---
generated: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
skill: tracking-decisions
review_date: YYYY-MM-DD
status: open
---

# Decision: [Short descriptive title]

## Context
[What situation prompted this decision? What's the business context?]

## Options Considered

| Option | Pros | Cons |
|--------|------|------|
| [Option A] | [Benefits] | [Drawbacks] |
| [Option B] | [Benefits] | [Drawbacks] |
| [Option C] | [Benefits] | [Drawbacks] |

## Decision
**Chosen:** [Which option]

**Rationale:**
- [Reason 1] `[Evidence/Assumption]`
- [Reason 2] `[Evidence/Assumption]`
- [Reason 3] `[Evidence/Assumption]`

## Expected Outcome
[What do you expect to happen as a result of this decision?]

## Success Criteria
- [ ] [Measurable criterion 1]
- [ ] [Measurable criterion 2]
- [ ] [Measurable criterion 3]

## Review Date
**Check back:** YYYY-MM-DD (typically 30-90 days)

---

## Outcome (fill in at review date)

**Status:** *(pending | ✅ correct | ⚠️ partially correct | ❌ wrong)*

**Actual Result:**
[What actually happened?]

**Success Criteria Results:**
- [ ] [Criterion 1]: [Met/Not met - why]
- [ ] [Criterion 2]: [Met/Not met - why]
- [ ] [Criterion 3]: [Met/Not met - why]

**Lessons Learned:**
- [What would you do differently?]
- [What assumptions were wrong?]
- [What signals did you miss?]

**Calibration Note:**
[Did your intuition match reality? Over/under-confident?]

3. Set Calendar Reminder

After logging, set a reminder for the review date.

4. Review Process

At review date:

1. Open the decision log
2. Fill in the Outcome section honestly
3. Update status in frontmatter
4. Extract lessons for future decisions

Quarterly Decision Review

Every quarter, review all decisions from 90+ days ago:

## Q[X] Decision Review

| Decision | Expected | Actual | Outcome | Key Lesson |
|----------|----------|--------|---------|------------|
| [Title] | [Expected] | [Actual] | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [Lesson] |

**Patterns:**
- [What types of decisions am I good at?]
- [What types of decisions am I bad at?]
- [What signals should I weight more/less?]

Output Location

• Individual decisions: outputs/decisions/YYYY-MM-DD-[title].md
• Quarterly reviews: outputs/decisions/Qx-YYYY-review.md

Evidence Rules

Same as all PM OS outputs:

• Tag rationale as [Evidence] or [Assumption]
• Be honest in outcome assessment
• Don't retrofit rationale after knowing the outcome