Decision records when changes affect connected commitments

A plan is a set of connected commitments, not a loose list of dates. When a stakeholder requests another feature, first identify the approved baseline, its deliverables and acceptance criteria, and the dependencies the request could change. Urgency does not grant authority to implement it. The project manager gathers impact evidence and options; the decision maker named in governance approves a change to scope or schedule. When the request falls within the team’s delegated detail decisions, record that operational choice without presenting it as a formal baseline change.

A useful decision record states the precise question, comparable options, decision owner and date, assumptions, expected effects, and a trigger for revisiting the choice. Link it to the change request, risk register, affected milestone, and communication plan. A verbal promise can leave teams acting on incompatible versions of an agreement. Name uncertainty accurately: a supplier estimate before device testing is an assumption; possible lateness is a risk; an already missed delivery is an issue. All may occur in one case, but each calls for a different response.

Trace dependencies before translating delay into a finish-date claim. If payment acceptance testing cannot begin until a card reader is installed, a late reader may move the delivery path even when interface design finishes early. Check available float, the agreed escalation threshold, and whether a valid alternate test exists. Do not copy a day of activity delay directly onto the launch date without checking the network and resources. A supplier’s paid acceleration option needs recorded cost, quality, and authorization effects; neither the cheapest nor the fastest option wins automatically.

After a decision, update the controlled plan and tell each group what it needs: the team needs execution instructions, the sponsor needs the benefit and date effect, and support needs the operating transition. A notification is not scope approval. At closure, return to the record: did its assumption hold, and who now owns any continuing follow-up? This makes the decision log useful evidence rather than an unused archive.