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Decision Capture

Capture decisions in real-time from your team's conversations.

How It Works​

When someone makes a decision in Slack or Teams, mention @align to capture it:

@align We decided to use Redis for session storage because
it supports TTL and our team has experience with it.

Align will:

  1. Acknowledge — Post a confirmation that the decision was captured
  2. Extract context — Pull in surrounding messages for context
  3. Synthesize — Use AI to structure the decision
  4. Create Snapshot — Store as a searchable Decision Snapshot
  5. Link back — Post a link to the decision in Align

What Makes a Good Decision Capture​

Include the "What"​

Be specific about what was decided:

✅ "We decided to use PostgreSQL for the user service"
❌ "Database stuff decided"

Include the "Why"​

Rationale is crucial for future understanding:

✅ "Using PostgreSQL because we need strong consistency
   for financial transactions and the team has Postgres experience"
❌ "Using PostgreSQL"

Include Participants​

Mention everyone involved:

✅ "@alice @bob @carol agreed on this approach"

Reference Evidence​

Link to supporting materials:

✅ "Per the RFC at PROJ-123 and the discussion in #arch-review"

Decision Types​

Align categorizes decisions automatically:

TypeExamples
ArchitectureTech stack choices, patterns, infrastructure
ApprovalSign-offs, go/no-go decisions
Trade-offChoosing between alternatives
PolicyProcess and workflow decisions
PrioritizationWhat to do first, deferrals

Context Extraction​

Align automatically captures:

  • Previous messages — Last ~50 messages in the conversation
  • Thread context — Full thread if captured from a reply
  • Linked content — URLs, mentions, and references
  • Participant info — Who was involved

Best Practices​

1. Capture at the Moment​

Don't wait—capture decisions when they're made:

✅ Immediately after discussion: "@align Going with option B"
❌ Days later: "@align I think we decided something about this?"

2. Use Threads​

Capture from within the discussion thread:

Thread: "Redis vs Memcached for caching?"
├── Discussion about tradeoffs...
├── More discussion...
└── "@align Going with Redis for pub/sub support"  ← Capture here

3. Be Explicit​

Don't rely on context alone:

✅ "@align We decided to delay the launch by 2 weeks to fix the auth bug"
❌ "@align ^^"

4. One Decision Per Capture​

Keep captures focused:

✅ "@align Decision 1: Using Kubernetes"
   "@align Decision 2: Going with EKS over GKE"
❌ "@align We decided Kubernetes and also EKS and also to change the deploy process"

After Capture​

Once captured, you can:

  • Edit — Refine the title and description in Align
  • Add tags — Categorize for easier search
  • Link evidence — Connect related tickets, PRs, docs
  • Share — Send the decision link to stakeholders