The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when Decisions on your project are spread across meetings, emails and chat, and you need one record of what was decided, by whom, why and what it replaced.
- {{project_name}}
- {{decision_rights}}
- {{readers}}
- {{source_material}}
- {{existing_log}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Project: {{project_name}} Who can make which decisions: {{decision_rights}} Who will use the log: {{readers}} Meeting notes, emails and messages since the last update: """ {{source_material}} """ The current decision log, if there is one: """ {{existing_log}} """ Task: Update the project's decision log from the material above, so that {{readers}} can see what was decided, by whom and why, without rereading the threads. A decision log is what settles arguments months later, so every entry must be traceable to its source. Format: 1. New decisions: a table with the columns ID, Date, Decision (one sentence stating the outcome), Decided by, Reason, Options considered, Replaces (an earlier decision ID, if any), Source (meeting or message, and date). 2. Changed decisions: where the material reverses or changes an entry in the current log, show both and mark the old one "Superseded by" the new ID. 3. Not yet decided: proposals, preferences and "let's" statements without agreement, listed separately, each with who needs to decide. 4. Authority check: decisions made by someone who, under the decision rights above, may not have the authority to make them, flagged neutrally for the project lead. Requirements: - Record a decision only where the material shows agreement or a clear call by someone with the authority. "We should probably..." is not a decision. - Copy names, dates and figures exactly. Give reasons and options only where the material states them; otherwise write "Not recorded". - Neutral wording: record what was decided, not whether it was wise. - Under 300 words outside the table. Example of one row's form only, with invented content: "D-12 | June 4 | Launch moves to the September release | Sponsor | Payment provider not certified in time | Launch without payments; delay | D-07 | Steering meeting, June 4" If it is unclear whether something was decided, or who decided it, list it under Not yet decided with the question to ask.
Variables
- {{project_name}}
- The project's name.
- {{decision_rights}}
- For example "sponsor: budget and dates; steering group: scope; project lead: day-to-day".
- {{readers}}
- For example "the project team and the steering group".
- {{source_material}}
- Notes and messages with their dates and authors.
- {{existing_log}}
- Your current log, copied in. Write "none" if you are starting one.
Why it works
- What good looks like. Each entry is traceable to the meeting or message it came from, which is what lets a decision log settle arguments months later.
- What to avoid. Proposals and "let's" statements are kept apart from decisions, so the log does not record agreement that never happened.
- If unsure. Unclear decisions become questions, and missing reasons become "Not recorded", rather than a plausible guess.