# OE-0008: Decisions

**Status:** Draft
**Version:** 0.2.0-draft
**Depends on:** OE-0007 (Verification)
**Phase:** The Bedrock Phase

## Overview

A decision is a choice made within a specific context, informed by observation and bounded by constraints, preserved as a structured record.

## Definition

In Open Engineer, a decision is not merely a choice. It is a recorded, contextualized choice — one that preserves the reasoning, alternatives considered, constraints faced, and verification applied. A decision without its context is an isolated artifact. A decision with its context is a building block for future understanding.

## The Context Record as Decision Output

Every decision produces an engineering context record (OE-0003). The minimum required fields of that record — Decision, Observation, Alternatives, Constraints, Reasoning, Verification, Lineage, Assumptions — constitute the structured output of the decision process.

## Decisions as Engineering Context

When preserved as a context record, a decision allows future practitioners to understand not just what was done, but why — and to make better decisions as a result. This is the mechanism by which the thread is maintained.

## Editorial Gate for New Additions

All additions to the standard — whether new specification content, RFCs, or reference material — must pass the editorial gate defined in `reference/editorial-principles.md`. That gate includes the four-question framework, the Enduring Concept test, and the Refinement Gate criteria. This document does not duplicate those rules.

## Single Responsibility

This document defines the role of decisions within the standard and their relationship to context records. It does not define the editorial process for evaluating decisions (see `reference/editorial-principles.md`). It references it.

## Applicable Laws

This document is governed by all Engineering Laws defined in `laws/engineering-laws.md`.