Capture decisions that are intentionally deferred, assign a review date and owner, and prevent them from silently disappearing.
---
name: deferred-decision-tracker
description: Capture decisions that are intentionally deferred, assign a review date and owner, and prevent them from silently disappearing.
metadata:
openclaw:
tags:
- productivity
- operations
- planning
- decision-support
---
# Deferred Decision Tracker
Use this skill when a decision is important enough to revisit, but not ready to decide now.
The goal is simple: **deferred should not mean forgotten.**
## When to Use
Use this skill when the user says things like:
- “Let’s come back to this later.”
- “Not now, but don’t let this disappear.”
- “Park this until after launch.”
- “We need a decision on this next week.”
- “This is a good idea, but we need more data first.”
## Capture Rule
Every deferred decision should be recorded with:
1. **Decision title** — short, concrete name.
2. **Why deferred** — what is missing or what must happen first.
3. **Owner** — who is responsible for reviving it.
4. **Review date/time** — when it should return.
5. **Trigger condition** — what event makes it relevant again.
6. **Output path or artifact** — where the future decision board should live.
7. **Status** — open, waiting, ready, decided, retired.
8. **Retirement condition** — when to stop surfacing it.
## Behavior
When a decision is deferred:
- Create or update a deferred-decision register.
- Make the next review date explicit.
- If a durable reminder or scheduler exists, use it when exact timing matters, preferring local or private mechanisms by default.
- Before creating external calendar events, sending notifications to other people, emailing, posting, purchasing, changing billing, or modifying access/security settings, get explicit user approval.
- If no scheduler exists, write the item somewhere the normal review process will check.
- Do not surface stale items repeatedly unless something has changed or a real review point has arrived.
## Privacy and Storage
Deferred-decision registers can contain sensitive personal, financial, business, security, or strategic information. Store them in a private or user-approved project location by default. Do not place sensitive decisions in public documents, shared folders, examples, or published artifacts unless the user explicitly asks.
## Recommended Register Format
```markdown
# Deferred Decisions
| Decision | Owner | Deferred Because | Review Date | Trigger | Status | Artifact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example vendor evaluation | Ops lead | Waiting for pricing | 2026-06-01 | Pricing received | waiting | docs/vendor-eval.md |
```
## Review Behavior
At review time:
1. Check whether the trigger condition happened.
2. Check whether the missing input is now available.
3. If ready, create a decision board with options, criteria, recommendation, risks, and explicit go/no-go ask.
4. If still not ready, update the reason and next review date.
5. If no longer relevant, mark retired and stop surfacing it.
## Decision Board Template
```markdown
# Decision Board: <Decision Title>
## Context
Why this decision matters now.
## Options
1. Option A
2. Option B
3. Option C
## Criteria
- Cost
- Speed
- Risk
- Reversibility
- Strategic fit
## Recommendation
Recommended option and why it beats alternatives.
## Risks / Caveats
What could be wrong or incomplete.
## Ask
Approve / reject / defer until <date>.
```
## Guardrails
- Do not create noisy reminders for low-value items.
- Do not treat a reminder as completion; the decision still needs an artifact or explicit closeout.
- Do not publish private user context in public registers or examples.
- Prefer specific review dates over vague “later.”
- If the item affects external action, money, privacy, or security, require explicit user approval before acting.
## Success Standard
A deferred decision is handled correctly when a future assistant, teammate, or agent can answer:
- What was deferred?
- Why?
- Who owns it?
- When does it return?
- What must be true to decide?
- Where is the decision artifact?
don't have the plugin yet? install it then click "run inline in claude" again.