Summary, action list, decision note, and open-question note

Unit ID: AIT-M05-U00 Estimated active time: 15-20 minutes

The main idea

Different note tasks need different output formats.

A summary, an action list, a decision note and an open-question note are four different documents. Asking for "notes" gets you a blend of all four, in which none of them is complete.

Why this matters

Each of the four is read by a different person for a different reason. The action list is read by the people doing the work; the decision note is read months later by someone asking what was agreed.

Safe example

Meeting notes can become a summary, action list, decisions, or open questions.

The same hour of discussion, four documents, and only one of them is worth circulating widely.

Better working habit

Ask for the exact note type you need.

Name it, and say who reads it. "An action list for the three people doing the work" is a clearer instruction than "notes".

What to watch for

Do not mix decisions and suggestions.

A suggestion recorded under a decision heading becomes a decision, and nobody who reads it later will know it was not.

Mini practice

Sort sample notes into facts, decisions, actions, and questions.

Count how many items you could not place. Those are usually the things that were never resolved.

Check yourself

Before moving on, answer:

• Which of the four note types do I actually need?
• Who reads it, and what do they do with it?
• Is anything filed as a decision that was only a suggestion?