Decision log software
A decision log that keeps every decision, and why
Stop deciding the same things twice. In Nova, every project has a decision log that fills up as your team works: decisions, approvals and deliverables, with who made them, when, and the session that explains why.
30-minute demo · Built around your own projects · No setup needed
- Built into every project, nothing to set up
- Who added each entry, with the date and time
- Filter by category and search the whole history
- The process behind every decision, one click away
What a missing decision log costs you
Decisions get made in calls, chats and hallways. Three weeks later nobody remembers the reasons, and the cost shows up everywhere.
The same meeting, again
Settled questions come back because nobody can point to the decision. Leaders spend their week re-deciding instead of moving forward.
Teams moving in different directions
Two teams act on two versions of the same decision, and the work has to be redone when someone notices.
Knowledge that walks out the door
When someone leaves or a new person joins, the reasons behind the plan leave with them, or take weeks to rebuild.
Reports written from memory
The board pack, the client update and the business review are rebuilt the night before, from whatever people remember.
Built into every project, not one more thing to maintain
There's no template to install and no spreadsheet to keep up to date. Every project in Nova has a decision log from the moment it's created, and it fills up as the team works.
- During the workA session endsWith a conclusion, a decision or an approval
- AutomaticallyIt's saved to the logWith who, the date and the time
- Every weekThe team adds the restDelays, date changes, wins and issues
- Months laterAnyone finds itBy category or search, with the reasons
- Saved as you work. Session conclusions, decisions, approvals and deliverables shared go straight to the project's log. Anyone can add an entry with Log an update.
- Who and when. Every entry records who added it and the date and time, so the project keeps its full history.
- Categorized. Each entry is a decision, a deliverable, a delay, a date change, a win or an issue.
- Easy to find. Filter by category, or search, to find what was decided months ago.
- The how and the why. Each entry comes from a session, and the session keeps the steps, inputs and options that led to it. A log tells you what was decided; Nova also shows you how the team got there.
- Decisions and approvals inside the process. Add steps where key people make a decision or approve something, and their call is saved to the log too.
- Kept complete by Nova AI. It picks up key decisions, delays, deliverables, wins and issues from the team's sessions and updates, so the log stays complete in the weeks people forget.
Six categories that make the log easy to read
A short, fixed list means anyone can filter the log in seconds. These are the categories in every Nova project:
| Category | What goes in it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Decision | What was decided, by whom and why | Launch in two markets first, not five. |
| Deliverable | What was handed over, to whom | Migration guide sent to the client for approval. |
| Delay | What's waiting and on whom | Waiting on legal review of the new terms. |
| Date change | Any date that moved, and why | Launch moved from May 2 to May 9 because of late content. |
| Win | Milestones reached, results worth repeating | Onboarding tickets down 28% after the new checklist. |
| Issue | Problems found that put a goal at risk | Payment errors on 3% of renewals since Monday. |
Five habits that keep a decision log alive
Most decision logs die in the second month. The tool is rarely the problem; the habits are. These are the ones we see work in leadership teams:
- MondayLook back and ahead10 min
- After every meetingRead the decision backBefore people leave
- FridayClose the week10 min
- After a monthLog it as it happensThe habit is built
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Every Monday · 10 min
Look back and look ahead
Each person adds the decisions from last week that aren't in yet, and any date that will move this week. The lead opens the Monday meeting by reading the new entries.
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Every Friday · 10 min
Close the week
Log the wins, the deliverables shared and any blocker you're carrying into next week. Friday entries are the ones leaders read first on Monday.
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After every meeting
Read the decisions back
End every meeting that decides something by reading the decision out loud. In Nova, the session's conclusion saves it to the log.
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Every week
Name one owner for the log
The project lead or chief of staff checks on Friday that the week is complete and that every entry makes sense to someone who wasn't there.
-
Always
Point people to it
When someone reopens a settled question, link the entry. After a few times, people check the log before they ask.
Decision log software vs a spreadsheet
A spreadsheet works for one project with a few decisions a week. Once decisions come from many meetings and teams, it depends on someone remembering to copy each one over, and the reasons never make it in.
| Spreadsheet | Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting decisions in | Copied by hand, when someone remembers | Saved from the session where they're made |
| Who and when | Typed in, if at all | Recorded on every entry |
| The reasons | A line of context, at best | The full session: steps, inputs and options |
| Approvals | In email threads | Approval steps that save to the log |
| Finding a decision | Scroll and hope | Filter by category, or search |
| Keeping it complete | Depends on one person | Nova AI picks up what people forget |
Frequently asked questions
What is decision log software?
Decision log software keeps a running record of what a team decided, who decided it, when and why, in one place everyone can search. In Nova, every project has a decision log that fills up as the team works, so nobody has to copy decisions into a separate document.
Do I need to set up a decision log template in Nova?
No. Every Nova project has a decision log from the moment it is created. Session conclusions, decisions, approvals and deliverables are saved to it, with who added each entry and when.
Why not keep a decision log in a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet works for one project with a few decisions a week. Once decisions come from many meetings and teams, someone has to copy each one over, and the reasons behind them are lost. A decision log built into the work saves decisions where they are made, with the session that explains them.
How should a decision log be categorized?
Use a short fixed list so the log can be filtered: decisions, deliverables, delays, date changes, wins and issues. Nova uses these categories in every project.
Who should own the decision log?
The person who makes each decision is responsible for its entry, and one person, usually the project lead or chief of staff, checks every Friday that the week is complete and readable.
See it working
See it on your own decisions in 30 minutes
Bring one project or one recurring decision. We'll show you how it runs in Nova, and you'll leave knowing exactly how your team would use it.
No time to set it up? Ask about Done-With-You Implementation.
- Your use case, set upA project like yours, with a project lead, session leads and the people who decide.
- Decisions and approvalsHow a key decision is assigned, how approvals move from one person or level to the next.
- The decision logWhat gets saved, who added it and when, and how to filter and search it months later.
- Your rollout planThe first two weeks: which project to start with and the Monday and Friday habit.
Keep going
Never lose another decision
See the decision log on your own projects in a 30-minute demo, or start free and create your first project today.