Ricardo IsazaPresident| Innostraph Life Sciences Consulting, LLCCary, Nc, United States
Can a Decision Log be incorporated into a Project Sheet? Client does not want to create and maintain a Decision Log, but capture the Decisions directly into a SmartSheet. Has anyone done this? I feel that you are missing many of the elements of a Decision Log Saving Changes...
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Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Ricardo,
I used do document decisions within a big Excel sheet, along with open issues. Added columns as appropriate like decision date, decision level etc.
Documenting decisions should consider that it may be perceived as lack of trust, micromanaging, and it build up over time as a bureaucracy. And are all decisions taken a year ago still appropriate as the situation changed?
In a project you need some leeway and setting limits has to be balanced with the necessary freedom. Saving Changes...
I'm not sure about SmartSheet, but in MS Project schedules you could certainly use the Notes feature to capture decisions which are relevant to a given activity in the schedule. You could even attach a formal decision approval document (if wet signatures are used) to such activities in the Notes field.
The downside of linking schedule and decision data is that a number of decisions, especially those made in the early stages of a project, might not have a suitable activity in a schedule to link them to.
I do agree with Thomas that you should be judicious about the use of a decision log - just as risk is uncertainty that matters, decisions which matter might benefit from being documented (the how is up to the team and other stakeholders) whereas others might not.
I may not understand your question entirely, but be careful of clients who don't want to record decisions. If the client wants to incorporate decisions directly into the plan (schedule, deliverables, etc.) without leaving a paper trail, they may be setting the stage to gaslight you later.
On multiple occasions I have had adversarial clients who will later insist I committed to doing extra work, compress the schedule, or deny that they themselves requested some change. In those cases, my record keeping becomes more robust than normal to maintain an accurate history. That may include keeping a running decision log, as well as writing up any verbal agreements and emailing them the minutes. The email both asks for any corrections, clarifications, or additions to the record to ensure it was captured correctly, but also puts them on notice that they can't easily try to change the recorded history if it suits them later. Saving Changes...
Ricardo IsazaPresident| Innostraph Life Sciences Consulting, LLCCary, Nc, United States
Thank you all. Very helpful points of view. Saving Changes...
Athina HarrisSr. Director, Technical Delivery & Implementation| Advanced GroupPlantation, Fl, United States
Hi Ricardo! I have done this a few ways in Smartsheet. One option if the project plan is also in Smartsheet, is to add line items to the plan for decisions effectively making the decision the task. You can then assign standard attributes like owner, dates, status, and also use the Conversations feature and attachments to capture the supporting/relevant information. I usually attach the evidence of the decision (i.e. email approval). Another option is to create a sheet specifically for the Decision Log which I've also done in Smartsheet (I usually leverage a RAID Log in Smartsheet to minimize the number of project artifacts to manage). You can create editable reports off the Smartsheet which will allow you to filter the information to capture on the report, and can edit directly into the report which will update the Smartsheet. You can create automations off of the Smartsheets also (i.e. request/push updates, aging, etc.). And lastly you can create a form tied to the Smartsheets that can collect data which is directly inserted into the Smartsheet. I leverage all of these methods in Smartsheet; this is actually my preferred PM tool. Happy to expand on this more if its helpful.
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1 reply by Ricardo Isaza
Aug 15, 2023 11:26 AM
Ricardo Isaza
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Athina, thank you. That is likely where we are headed. The only reason I don’t like to include Decisions, Risks, and Issues into a project sheet is that it makes it busy. It is easier to maintain separate logs that you can link within the sheet. Could you please send me an example of what it looks like in a sheet? Also what the report looks like?
Saving Changes...
Ricardo IsazaPresident| Innostraph Life Sciences Consulting, LLCCary, Nc, United States
Aug 15, 2023 10:10 AM
Replying to Athina Harris
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Hi Ricardo! I have done this a few ways in Smartsheet. One option if the project plan is also in Smartsheet, is to add line items to the plan for decisions effectively making the decision the task. You can then assign standard attributes like owner, dates, status, and also use the Conversations feature and attachments to capture the supporting/relevant information. I usually attach the evidence of the decision (i.e. email approval). Another option is to create a sheet specifically for the Decision Log which I've also done in Smartsheet (I usually leverage a RAID Log in Smartsheet to minimize the number of project artifacts to manage). You can create editable reports off the Smartsheet which will allow you to filter the information to capture on the report, and can edit directly into the report which will update the Smartsheet. You can create automations off of the Smartsheets also (i.e. request/push updates, aging, etc.). And lastly you can create a form tied to the Smartsheets that can collect data which is directly inserted into the Smartsheet. I leverage all of these methods in Smartsheet; this is actually my preferred PM tool. Happy to expand on this more if its helpful.
Athina, thank you. That is likely where we are headed. The only reason I don’t like to include Decisions, Risks, and Issues into a project sheet is that it makes it busy. It is easier to maintain separate logs that you can link within the sheet. Could you please send me an example of what it looks like in a sheet? Also what the report looks like? Saving Changes...
Athina HarrisSr. Director, Technical Delivery & Implementation| Advanced GroupPlantation, Fl, United States
Hi Ricardo,
I sent you a direct message with examples. Hope it helps. Saving Changes...
