Pair the RACI with a decision log

Knowing who decides is only half the system — recording what was decided closes the accountability loop.

Why it works

RACI clarifies who has authority; a decision log records what that authority produced. Without a log, decisions made by the Accountable person can be revisited by other stakeholders who weren’t informed or who forgot. A shared, timestamped decision log makes decisions sticky — it’s hard to re-open a decision that is written down with its rationale and a named owner.

How to do it

1. Create a simple shared document with columns: decision, date, Accountable person, options considered, rationale, and next review date if relevant.
2. After each significant decision, have the A log it within 24 hours.
3. Refer to the log explicitly in project updates: "as per the 5 June decision by [name], we are proceeding with..."

Evidence

Organizational memory research shows that undocumented decisions are frequently re-litigated, especially across personnel changes. A decision log provides the institutional memory that prevents recurring debates and accountability gaps. (mechanistic)

Decision-log effectiveness depends on discipline in maintaining it; a partially maintained log can be worse than none, implying the undocumented decisions were less important.

Common mistake

Relying on meeting minutes to serve as a decision log — minutes capture discussion, not the final decision and its owner, so they’re insufficient for accountability purposes.