Decision-making
Our tendency should be to have the decision-making process and the documented outcomes public (i.e., accessible by every team member) by default. Exceptions prove the rule.
Decision circles
To make high-impact decisions fast and distributed, we use a structured format called decision circles. A decision circle is a temporary group of people enabled by a sponsor (e.g., management) that has the full autonomy to decide on a given topic. There is a Notion documentation dedicated to explaining decision circles, the included roles, and the decision process in detail.
We currently use decision circles
- company-wide, to collaborate on organizational changes
- in the tech division, to collaborate on architectural changes and implementation details
In the future, we might roll out the format to further usages.
Documenting outcomes
We use the concept of ADRs to document decisions and the reasoning behind them.
Architectural decision records (ADRs)
ADRs have been introduced to thomann.io in early 2025 to clearly state architectural decisions in our tech division. Since then, we use them to document our high-level architectural and technical decisions to keep track of progress and change.
Organizational decision records (ODRs)
In late 2025, we derived a similar format from ADRs to reflect organizational decisions and changes. We call it organizational decision records. We use them to document our high-level/high-impact decisions on the organizational level and to keep track of progress and change.
Looking for a manual?
Both the usage of ADRs and ODRs are documented in Notion and accessible via the ADR and ODR database pages. This handbook page only outlines the existence of the three formats. However, to avoid duplication and strive for high maintainability, please use Notion as a reference for more details.