---
title: "Acknowledge Downsides and Dissent in Decisions"
source: "https://virtualddd.com/heuristics/acknowledge-downsides-and-dissent-in-decisions/"
authors: ["Andrea Magnorsky", "Andrew Harmel-Law", "Kenny Baas-Schwegler"]
tags: ["adr", "decision-making process", "conflict management", "decentralised decision-making", "facilitating software architecture and design"]
type: "guiding heuristics"
question: "How can we document a decision while acknowledging disagreement or known trade-offs?"
submitter: "Andrew Harmel-Law"
---

# Acknowledge Downsides and Dissent in Decisions

Use phrases like ”adopted despite” to list the known downsides of the chosen option. This formally acknowledges dissenting viewpoints and trade-offs directly within the decision record. It helps people feeling more heard and provides a more complete picture of the decision.

## Example

When recording a decision, you can state that an option was “adopted despite” a known downside. This makes team members who raised that concern possibly feel more acknowledged in the body of the document.