The purpose of this guide is to provide a document template for Casconauts to effectively write and communicate their ideas with others.
Purpose statements
Writing better starts with drafting a good "purpose statement" early.[1] This is the recommended structure but the author should use good judgement to adjust.
The purpose of this (document, memo, guide, report) is (decision/action) for (audience) in order to (outcome).
A good document requires the narrative to 1/ drive an outcome and 2/ present the minimum necessary supporting information to an uninitiated reader. Many fail by either writing a plan to drive an outcome without clear rationale or explain all the context of a problem to the reader without a recommended next step.
Minimal formatting
Good documents minimize indentation-based formatting, such as bulleted lists, numbered lists, or tables. We minimize these formatting options because they effectively turn a documents into slide decks. Slide decks hide details. This subconsciously encourages the author to avoid formalizing their rationale. Use bold, italic, and underline as you main structural guide as needed.
Strategic decision document template
Purpose statement.
Context.
Recommendation.
Supporting evidence 1.
Supporting evidence 2.
Supporting evidence 3.
Execution plan.
Appendix:
Alternatives considered.
Raw data for supporting evidence.
[1] This is inspired by "Can Do Writing" by Daniel Graham, one of the most influential books for Rene.