Where did we decide that?
Answers with citations.
- For
- Anyone new to a project, or anyone about to reopen an old argument
- When
- Before you change something that looks like a choice
- Takes
- Under a minute of agent time
- You get
- The decision, who made it and when, a citation you can open, and a warning if what shipped differs
Where did we decide <question>? Answer from onecell, with citations. 1. Call list_decisions (all_clusters: true, status: any) and search for the question. Read only the documents you will cite. 2. Answer in a few lines: the decision, when it was made and by whom, and where it lives, cited as cell · heading · passage, with a link. 3. Check it against the code or the product if you can. If what shipped differs from what was decided, say so plainly. 4. If nothing was decided, say so, list the closest discussions, and offer to draft a proposed decision. Don't write anything unless I ask.
What your agent does
Looks in two places
list_decisions finds recorded decision blocks in every cluster; search finds decisions written in prose, in specs, tickets and notes.Cites what it found
Cell, heading and passage, with a link, so you can read the reasoning yourself.Checks it against reality
A decision can say one thing while the code does another. The agent says which is which.Admits a gap
If nothing was decided, it says so and offers to draft a proposed decision, rather than inventing an answer.
What you get back
Open the full example →An answer for Tally, a made-up invoicing app. It comes with a finding: the accepted decision and the shipped code disagree.
Sample answer: where did we decide to retry failed payments?
The answer
On 12 May the team decided to retry a failed card payment three times, two days apart, then mark the invoice needs attention and stop. Sam Okafor accepted it after a review with Priya Shah.
Does the code still match?
| Part of the decision | In the code | Matches? |
|---|---|---|
| Three retries | MAX_RETRIES = 3 in lib/billing/retry.ts | Yes |
| Two days apart | RETRY_DELAY = 48 hours | Yes |
| Notify the freelancer after the last one | Sends a needs-attention email | Yes |
| Stop retrying after the third | A fourth retry is scheduled for annual plans | No |
First-week questions log
- Done: Where did we decide to retry failed payments? Answered above.
- Is the fourth retry for annual plans intended?
Variations
A first-week questions log
New to a project? Add: “Append the question and the answer, with its citation, to Questions: <project> in my Inbox.” By the end of the week it is a list of answers, plus the questions nobody could answer, which are worth raising with the team.
Before reopening a decision
Add: “Then tell me what has changed since, and whether the original reasons still hold.” If they don't, follow with the Record a decision recipe to replace it.
Tips
- Ask the question the way you would ask a teammate. Search handles plain language.
- Decisions written as decision blocks are found reliably; decisions buried in prose depend on search. Record the important ones.
- The mismatch between decision and code is often the most useful part of the answer.