Turn Data into Better Decisions — Practical Checklist & Decision Record

{"Title":"Turn Data into Better Decisions — Practical Checklist & Decision Record","IntroductionHtml":"

Use this checklist during decision huddles or after an analysis to capture the thinking, the evidence, the chosen action, who owns it, and how you will measure whether it worked. Each submission becomes a persistent decision record you can revisit, track, and follow up on.

","SubmitLabel":"Save decision record","SuccessMessage":"Decision saved. You can return to this record to update progress, attach follow-ups, or run the measurement plan.","DataType":"DecisionChecklistSubmission","SchemaVersion":1,"Fields":[{"Key":"decisionTitle","Label":"Decision title (short)","FieldType":"text","Required":true,"HelpText":"Give the decision a concise name that makes it easy to find later (e.g., 'Reduce product returns for model X')."},{"Key":"decisionObjective","Label":"Objective and success criteria","FieldType":"textarea","Required":true,"HelpText":"Describe what you hope to achieve and how you'll know you've succeeded (specific measurable criteria)."},{"Key":"baselineMetrics","Label":"Baseline (current measure)","FieldType":"textarea","Required":false,"HelpText":"Record current values that your measurement plan will compare against (numbers, percentages, time, cost, etc.)."},{"Key":"keyQuestions","Label":"Key questions and hypotheses","FieldType":"textarea","Required":true,"HelpText":"Frame the core questions and the hypotheses you expect to test (e.g., 'If we change X then Y will improve because...')."},{"Key":"requiredData","Label":"Required data and known gaps","FieldType":"textarea","Required":true,"HelpText":"List the data you need, where it comes from, and any gaps you must fill before making a confident decision."},{"Key":"dataQualityCheck","Label":"Quick data quality & bias check","FieldType":"yesno","Required":true,"HelpText":"A quick pass to surface obvious issues. If 'No', add notes below."},{"Key":"dataQualityNotes","Label":"Data quality / bias notes","FieldType":"textarea","Required":false,"HelpText":"Notes on missing fields, suspect values, known biases, or limitations to consider when interpreting the data."},{"Key":"exploratorySteps","Label":"Exploratory analysis and validation steps taken","FieldType":"textarea","Required":false,"HelpText":"Summarize the key analyses, visualizations, or experiments you ran to validate hypotheses (include short findings)."},{"Key":"hypothesisValidation","Label":"How hypotheses were validated or rejected","FieldType":"textarea","Required":false,"HelpText":"Briefly state which hypotheses were supported, which were rejected, and the evidence for each."},{"Key":"optionsSummary","Label":"Options considered and trade-offs","FieldType":"textarea","Required":true,"HelpText":"List practical options, expected benefits, costs/risks, who is affected, and important trade-offs."},{"Key":"recommendedAction","Label":"Recommended action (what to do)","FieldType":"textarea","Required":true,"HelpText":"Describe the chosen action clearly enough that someone other than the analyst can act on it."},{"Key":"owner","Label":"Action owner (name & role)","FieldType":"text","Required":true,"HelpText":"Person accountable for carrying out the action and reporting progress."},{"Key":"deadline","Label":"Deadline or target date","FieldType":"text","Required":false,"HelpText":"Use a date format your team prefers (YYYY-MM-DD recommended)."},{"Key":"priority","Label":"Priority","FieldType":"select","Required":false,"HelpText":"Helps teams triage follow-ups.","Options":[{"Value":"high","Label":"High"},{"Value":"medium","Label":"Medium"},{"Value":"low","Label":"Low"}]},{"Key":"confidenceLevel","Label":"Confidence in this decision (1–10)","FieldType":"scale","Required":false,"HelpText":"Record how confident the team is that this action will produce the intended outcome.","ScaleMin":1,"ScaleMax":10},{"Key":"measurementPlan","Label":"Measurement plan: metrics, frequency, responsibility","FieldType":"textarea","Required":true,"HelpText":"Specify the metric(s) to track, baseline, target, how often you'll measure, who collects the data, and how you'll analyze results."},{"Key":"followUpExperiment","Label":"Follow-up experiment or evaluation","FieldType":"textarea","Required":false,"HelpText":"Describe any A/B tests, pilot scope, sample sizes, or experiment design you will run to validate impact."},{"Key":"communicationPlan","Label":"Communication plan and stakeholders to notify","FieldType":"textarea","Required":false,"HelpText":"Who needs to know about the decision, how you'll inform them, and what materials (slides, brief, email) are needed."},{"Key":"stakeholderSignOff","Label":"Stakeholder sign-off obtained","FieldType":"yesno","Required":false,"HelpText":"Mark whether key stakeholders have reviewed and approved the decision."},{"Key":"stakeholderNames","Label":"If signed off, list stakeholder names / roles","FieldType":"textarea","Required":false,"HelpText":"Who explicitly signed off or agreed (names and roles)."},{"Key":"notesAndRisks","Label":"Known risks, assumptions, and next monitoring steps","FieldType":"textarea","Required":false,"HelpText":"Capture important assumptions and foreseeable risks to monitor as you implement."},{"Key":"saveAsTemplate","Label":"Save this submission as a reusable template for future decisions?","FieldType":"yesno","Required":false,"HelpText":"If yes, the non-personal fields can be copied into a new checklist template for the team."}]}