# Templates for acting and reviewing

Copy the template that helps your next decision. Fill in only the lines that matter. The worked examples are in [A useful first attempt](/first-try/), [Improving without starting over](/improving-without-starting-over/) and [Six weeks to learn together](/learning-as-a-team/).

## A first attempt
{: #template-bounded-attempt }

- **Person to help:** ...
- **Problem observed:** ...
- **Assumption:** ...
- **Smallest version that tests it (one hour if you can):** ...
- **What we look at, and when:** ...
- **What cannot be undone, and must be checked first:** ...
- **Result: observed / not known yet:** ...
- **Decision: carry on, change, or stop:** ...

## A decision note
{: #template-decision-note }

- **Decision, owner, date:** ...
- **Options, including keeping what exists:** ...
- **Choice and reason:** ...
- **What we do not know:** ...
- **The fact that would make us revisit it:** ...
- **At review: result, and next step:** ...

Keep the original reasoning. Add the result afterwards without rewriting what was known at the time.

## A before and after
{: #template-before-after }

| | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| What the person does | ... | ... |
| Time or effort | ... | ... |
| Errors, returns or requests | ... | ... |
| Load moved onto someone else | ... | ... |
| How we measured, over how many cases | ... | ... |

**Decision and next check:** ...

## A handover
{: #template-accepted-handover }

- **What is finished, and what is still open:** ...
- **What is handed over, and to whom:** ...
- **Accepted by (their words):** ...
- **Who to ask if it gets stuck:** ...
- **Date my part ends:** ...

## Backing someone
{: #template-precise-backing }

- **Help asked for:** ...
- **What I give:** ...
- **Time and date:** ...
- **What this help does not cover:** ...
- **What it made possible, afterwards:** ...

## A log of decisions and results
{: #template-decision-log }

| Date and what we saw | Decision and reason | Owner and next check |
|---|---|---|
| ... | ... | ... |

Add a line when a fact changes or confirms a decision.

## A team account
{: #template-team-account }

- **Period and question:** ...
- **What we did:** ...
- **What changed, with numbers:** ...
- **What we do not know yet:** ...
- **What it cost, and what waited:** ...
- **Decision: keep, change, or stop:** ...
- **Who carries what next:** ...