Decision Memo

A standalone prompt for generating decision memos as single-file HTML artefacts. Unlike the other presentation templates, the memo is a single scrolling document, not a slide-stepper — closer in shape to a Bezos six-pager than a deck.

The memo asks for a decision and makes the case for it. Body sits in the centre of the page at a comfortable reading width. Appendices collapse by default and expand on click. Footnotes are inline (hover or tap to reveal). A sticky table of contents on the left lets the reader jump between sections.

Useful when you need a written argument that travels — when “let me send you a deck” is the wrong shape because the recipient needs to read, annotate, and decide rather than be presented to.

You’ll use two prompts: Prompt A scaffolds the shell with placeholder structure, Prompt B populates the real memo from a rough content dump.

View sample →

The memo structure

Every decision memo follows a fixed structure:

TL;DR — the decision being asked for, in one paragraph
Context — what’s the situation, why are we deciding now
Options — what’s on the table (typically 2–4)
Recommendation — which option, with reasoning
Risks & mitigations — what could go wrong
Decision required — what we need from the reader, by when
Appendices — supporting detail, data, prior discussions

A reader who only reads TL;DR + Recommendation should be able to make the decision. Everything else is there for the reader who wants to interrogate it.

Visual style

As with the other templates, this follows a priority order: a design.md file in the same folder takes precedence, otherwise use any reference URL provided in the prompt, and if neither is available, fall back to the default Playbook style. The default for memos is more text-document than presentation — generous line height, restrained palette, serifs optional.

Prompt A — Shell bootstrap

You are generating a single-file HTML decision memo. Read this entire
prompt before starting.

OUTPUT:
- One file: memo.html
- Inline CSS in a <style> block, inline JS in a <script> block
- No external dependencies
- Must work from file:// and as an email attachment
- Print stylesheet that produces a clean PDF when printed from Chrome

VISUAL STYLE — resolve in this order:
1. design.md in this folder, if present
2. Reference URL below, if provided
3. Default: serif body (system serif stack), sans-serif headings
   (system sans stack), generous line height (~1.7), max reading
   width 680px, neutral palette

REFERENCE URL (optional):
[paste URL here, or leave empty]

SHELL REQUIREMENTS:

1. Page layout
   - Single scrolling document — NOT slide-based
   - Body content centred, max-width ~680px for readability
   - Sticky table of contents on the left edge (desktop only)
   - On narrow viewports (<900px), TOC collapses into a top bar with
     a dropdown
   - Page scrolls vertically as a normal web page

2. Sticky TOC
   - Lists the seven memo sections by name (TL;DR, Context, Options,
     Recommendation, Risks, Decision Required, Appendices)
   - Active section is highlighted as the reader scrolls
   - Click a section to scroll to it (smooth scroll)
   - Appendix entries nested under "Appendices"

3. Header strip
   - Top of the page, full width, monospace
   - Shows: memo title, author(s), date, status
     (Draft / For Review / Final)
   - Status uses a coloured pill

4. Section structure
   - Each top-level section is a <section data-memo-section>
   - H2 heading at the start
   - Body in <article> with comfortable prose styling

5. Inline footnotes
   - <sup data-footnote="text"> elements in body copy
   - Numbered automatically (1, 2, 3...)
   - Click/hover reveals the footnote text in a tooltip
   - All footnotes also listed at the bottom of the memo with
     back-references

6. Collapsible appendices
   - Each appendix is <section data-appendix> with a heading
   - Collapsed by default, showing only the heading + a chevron
   - Click to expand
   - "Expand all" / "Collapse all" controls at the top of the
     appendix section

7. Decision callout
   - The "Decision Required" section is visually distinct — bordered
     box, accent colour, slightly larger type
   - Includes: decision being asked, deadline, decision-makers

8. Print stylesheet
   - Hide TOC, hide collapsible chevrons (expand all appendices for
     print), keep footnotes inline as parenthetical superscripts
     followed by a footnote list at the end

CONTENT COMPONENTS:

- prose paragraphs (default body)
- bulleted lists
- numbered lists
- tables (e.g. for options comparison)
- pull-quotes (for cited prior decisions or principles)
- inline code (e.g. for system names, file paths)
- block quotes (for verbatim cited text)
- option-card — a card with title, summary, pros, cons, used in the
  Options section
- decision-box — the styled "Decision Required" callout

PLACEHOLDER CONTENT:

Generate a placeholder memo with realistic structure:

  Header strip: "Decision Memo Template" / "Author Name" /
                "[Date]" / Status: Draft

  TL;DR: One paragraph asking for a fictional decision (e.g.
         "We recommend Option B: migrate to a managed Postgres
         provider by end of Q2.")

  Context: 2-3 paragraphs of fictional context with one footnote.

  Options: 3 option-cards (A, B, C) with pros and cons each.

  Recommendation: 2 paragraphs explaining the chosen option,
                  with one inline footnote and one pull-quote.

  Risks & Mitigations: A table with three rows
                       (Risk / Likelihood / Mitigation).

  Decision Required: decision-box with a fictional decision,
                     deadline, and two decision-maker names.

  Appendices: Three collapsed appendices:
              "Appendix A — Cost analysis" (placeholder table)
              "Appendix B — Migration timeline" (placeholder list)
              "Appendix C — Prior discussion notes" (placeholder prose)

CODE QUALITY:

- Semantic HTML (article, section, aside, sup, details/summary
  for appendices)
- CSS custom properties for palette, spacing, type scale
- Vanilla JS for TOC scroll-spy, footnote tooltips, expand/collapse
- Comment major sections

WHEN DONE:

Save as memo.html. Confirm file size (under 40KB).
Tell me the section count and appendix count.

Prompt B — Rough content dump

Replace the placeholder content in memo.html with the real memo from
the rough content dump below. Do not change the shell — TOC, header, section
structure, appendix mechanics, print stylesheet, visual style stay
as is.

RULES:

- The rough content dump is organised by # SECTION: markers matching the seven
  memo sections (TL;DR, CONTEXT, OPTIONS, RECOMMENDATION, RISKS,
  DECISION, APPENDIX).
- Multiple appendices: use # SECTION: APPENDIX repeatedly, each
  followed by ## <appendix title>.
- Inline footnotes: write [^text of the footnote] inline. Convert
  these to <sup data-footnote="..."> elements with auto-numbering.
- Options section: each option starts with ### Option N — <name>
  followed by paragraphs of free text. Extract pros and cons if I
  list them with "Pros:" and "Cons:" markers; otherwise leave as
  prose.
- Risks section: if I write a list of "Risk → Mitigation" pairs,
  render as a table. If prose, keep as prose.
- Decision section: extract the decision asked, deadline, and
  decision-makers if I provide them in a structured way; otherwise
  use the prose I wrote.
- Update the header strip with the title, author, date, and status
  I provide at the top of the rough content dump.
- Update the TOC to reflect the actual sections (and appendix titles).
- Don't add sections I didn't write. Don't editorialise.
- Tighten typos and casual phrasing only. Keep my voice.

ROUGH CONTENT DUMP:

[paste below this line.]

---

TITLE: [memo title]
AUTHOR: [your name]
DATE: [date]
STATUS: [Draft / For Review / Final]

# SECTION: TL;DR

[one paragraph asking for the decision]

# SECTION: CONTEXT

[prose, with [^footnote text] inline as needed]

# SECTION: OPTIONS

### Option A — [name]

[prose]
Pros:
- [pro]
- [pro]
Cons:
- [con]

### Option B — [name]

[prose]

# SECTION: RECOMMENDATION

[prose]

# SECTION: RISKS

[prose, or list of "Risk → Mitigation"]

# SECTION: DECISION

DECISION: [what's being decided]
DEADLINE: [when needed]
DECIDERS: [names]

# SECTION: APPENDIX

## Appendix A — [title]

[content]

## Appendix B — [title]

[content]

---

WHEN DONE:

Save the updated memo.html. Tell me the final section count, footnote
count, and appendix count. Flag any section that came out very thin
(under 50 words) and any inline footnotes that didn't parse cleanly.

design.md — optional style brief

Same shape as other templates. For memos, the Tone field matters more than usual — “formal, considered” produces a different memo than “direct, plainspoken” even with the same content.

Recurring patterns

Sharpen the TL;DR. Ask Claude Code to rewrite the TL;DR as one sentence, not a paragraph. If the one-sentence version is unclear, the memo’s argument is unclear.

Promote / demote sections. If reviewers keep getting confused by something in an appendix, ask Claude Code to promote it into the main body. If a main-body section is bogging the memo down, ask to demote it.

Print as PDF. Chrome → Print → Save as PDF. Margins: Default. Background graphics: on. Headers and footers: off. Produces a clean text document with appendices fully expanded.

Diff two versions. Save the memo as memo-v1.html, iterate to memo-v2.html, then ask Claude Code to write a “what changed” summary at the top of v2. Useful when circulating revisions.