Keeping up with action items and final decisions throughout the lifecycle of a project can be HARD! Sometimes, it involves searching through pages and pages of meeting notes and emails.
An action & decision log can help keep this information in one place.
While the template can vary, I tend to prefer an Excel workbook with two sheets (one for actions and one for decisions). The action sheet includes the following column names: date recorded, category, project, action, responsible individual(s), status, due dates, date completed and comments. The decision sheet includes the following column names: date recorded, date of decision, category, project (if applicable), decision and comments. The benefits include providing transparency to existing team members and providing historical (and current) information to new team members. Individual team members should review, add, and update their open action items weekly. Collectively, the team should review open items monthly. This review offers the opportunity to discuss any "stale" open actions and to close any completed actions. The team can capture any recent final decisions as well (can recorded on an ongoing basis).
Let us know if you have any feedback on this method or any suggestions for keeping up with actions and decisions throughout the lifecycle of the project.
Sincerely,
Natalie Sutton, Program Manager