Free tool · Decision canvas

A choice you
can explain.

Lay out the options, compare what matters and keep the reason for your decision. Leave with an editable record you can bring to your team.

Build a decision Start with a blank template

No account needed. Your draft stays in this tab; copy or download it to keep it.

Enable JavaScript to fill in this canvas and export your record. The introduction and related templates work without it.

01Frame the decision

Decision question

Name one choice. For example, what should the first useful version include?

Context and constraints

Why now? Include the boundary, available time and any commitments.

What matters in this choice?

List the few things you will compare. Describe them in words rather than assigning scores.

02 · Compare the options

More than one way forward.

Include keeping things as they are if it is a real alternative. Empty notes stay unknown.

Option 1

Option name 1

Give this direction a short, distinct name.

Expected benefits 1

What could improve, and for whom?

Costs and tradeoffs 1

What would this take or make harder?

Evidence and references 1

Record what you observed and where to find it.

Assumptions and unknowns 1

What still needs a check?

Option 2

Option name 2

Give this direction a short, distinct name.

Expected benefits 2

What could improve, and for whom?

Costs and tradeoffs 2

What would this take or make harder?

Evidence and references 2

Record what you observed and where to find it.

Assumptions and unknowns 2

What still needs a check?

2 of 8 options. Compare at least two directions.

Your comparison at a glance.

Read these against your criteria. No automatic score or recommendation.

What matters

Not specified — add comparison criteria above.

Unnamed option 1

Expected benefit: Unknown
Tradeoff: Unknown
Evidence: Not supplied
Still to check: Not specified

Unnamed option 2

Expected benefit: Unknown
Tradeoff: Unknown
Evidence: Not supplied
Still to check: Not specified

03Keep the reason

Decision state

Reason for the decision

Explain the tradeoff you accept, or what prevents a choice.

Why other options wait

Record the reason for leaving alternatives aside. This can stay open while you compare.

Open questions and next checks

What would you need to learn? Keep a proposed check separate from a completed check.

Owner (optional)

Who will follow through on this decision?

When to revisit

Name a change, observation or point in time that should reopen the discussion.

Decision-record.md

Keep the thinking.

Your fields build the record. Edit the Markdown to make it yours.

4 details to clarify

# Decision record

Status: Open — no decision recorded.

## Question