Manage work and decisions

Record a decision or policy with its evidence

A decision record explains a choice your team has already made and why it applies. A policy record explains a standing rule. Both are operating records in your Mind: saved information with an accountable owner, scope, sources, confidence and a date for review. Use them when someone will need to follow a choice later or understand why it was made.

Contents

A meeting note records what was said. A task records work still to do. An operating record states a decision or rule that people may rely on, while keeping the evidence and limits visible.

Start from a decision that has been made

Name the actual choice, who is accountable for it and where it applies. Find the meeting note, saved evidence or prior record that supports it. If the source exists only in the current chat, save the supporting material through the normal governed route first.

For a fictional example, a leadership meeting might settle the refund period for a service. The operating record should say what was decided, which service it covers, why that period was chosen and which meeting note supports it. It should not turn an option still being discussed into a settled rule.

Check for an existing record

Ask your connected agent to list the relevant decision or policy records and open any likely match. If the choice is already recorded, use that record. If it changes an existing decision, follow reviewing and replacing an operating record so the relationship between the two remains clear.

Draft what a future reader will need

Include the decision or rule, the accountable owner, its scope, the date it was made and a realistic review date. Explain the rationale and genuine alternatives. Link the saved sources and state uncertainty honestly. Confidence describes the strength of the evidence; it is not a measure of how strongly the team wants the decision to succeed.

You can ask: “Record this settled decision using the record-decision skill. Show me its source, owner, scope, rationale and review date before proposing it.” A commitment can be described within the decision and linked to the tasks that fulfil it. This does not introduce a separate Commitment record type.

Review the proposed record and its result

The agent submits a proposal, a suggested saved change. Review its wording and sources through the supported controls. The review settings and the governed area determine its disposition; a proposal waiting for review is not yet an active record.

After it is saved, open the record and check its contents. A valid record format does not establish that its reasoning or evidence is sound. A review date makes the record discoverable as overdue when the date passes; it does not itself schedule a reminder.

Related

Review and replace an operating record · Track tasks and check their progress · Review changes and check what was saved · Ask what is current, then ask why

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## For agents

- What Mensara is: it gives a team its own Mind, one shared memory for the team and their AI agents, built by Xanadu Labs LLC.
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# Record a decision or policy with its evidence

Guides · Manage work and decisions · [How it works](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works)

A decision record explains a choice your team has already made and why it applies. A policy record explains a standing rule. Both are operating records in your Mind: saved information with an accountable owner, scope, sources, confidence and a date for review. Use them when someone will need to follow a choice later or understand why it was made.

[Page as Markdown](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/operating-records.md)

[Operating procedure](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/operating-record-procedure)

A meeting note records what was said. A task records work still to do. An operating record states a decision or rule that people may rely on, while keeping the evidence and limits visible.

## Start from a decision that has been made

Name the actual choice, who is accountable for it and where it applies. Find the meeting note, saved evidence or prior record that supports it. If the source exists only in the current chat, save the supporting material through the normal governed route first.

For a fictional example, a leadership meeting might settle the refund period for a service. The operating record should say what was decided, which service it covers, why that period was chosen and which meeting note supports it. It should not turn an option still being discussed into a settled rule.

## Check for an existing record

Ask your connected agent to list the relevant decision or policy records and open any likely match. If the choice is already recorded, use that record. If it changes an existing decision, follow [reviewing and replacing an operating record](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/review-operating-records) so the relationship between the two remains clear.

## Draft what a future reader will need

Include the decision or rule, the accountable owner, its scope, the date it was made and a realistic review date. Explain the rationale and genuine alternatives. Link the saved sources and state uncertainty honestly. Confidence describes the strength of the evidence; it is not a measure of how strongly the team wants the decision to succeed.

You can ask: “Record this settled decision using the record-decision skill. Show me its source, owner, scope, rationale and review date before proposing it.” A commitment can be described within the decision and linked to the tasks that fulfil it. This does not introduce a separate Commitment record type.

## Review the proposed record and its result

The agent submits a proposal, a suggested saved change. Review its wording and sources through the supported controls. The [review settings](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/mind-settings#why-changes-wait-for-review) and the governed area determine its disposition; a proposal waiting for review is not yet an active record.

After it is saved, open the record and check its contents. A valid record format does not establish that its reasoning or evidence is sound. A review date makes the record discoverable as overdue when the date passes; it does not itself schedule a reminder.

## Related

- [Review and replace an operating record](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/review-operating-records)
- [Track tasks and check their progress](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/track-tasks)
- [Review changes and check what was saved](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/changes-approvals-receipts)
- [Ask what is current, then ask why](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/current-and-evidence)

Previous page: [Help another agent continue the work](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/continue-the-work)

Next page: [Review and replace an operating record](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/review-operating-records)

An operating record is a saved decision or policy with its owner, scope, evidence and review date.

[Join the waitlist](https://app.mensara.ai/#waitlist)