A decision is a choice someone can make. A chart, a summary or a forecast is useful when it informs that choice. Without a decision in view, it is easy to make increasingly polished reports that nobody uses.
Name the person who will act, the choices available and the date by which a choice is needed. Include the consequence of getting it wrong. A decision about tomorrow's delivery run needs different evidence from a decision about opening a second branch.
A small-business example
A bookkeeper prepares a monthly customer sales ranking. The owner likes seeing it, but the ranking changes little and prompts no action.
The sales manager has a more specific choice: which five customers should receive a follow-up call this week? Recent ordering patterns, unresolved complaints and the usual reorder interval may help more than total lifetime sales. The records should support that particular choice, with staff checking the circumstances before calling.
Try this
Choose a report your business produces regularly. Write down its reader, the choice it supports and the action taken after the last edition. If the action is unclear, ask the reader what they need to decide next. Revise the question before revising the report.
Choose a useful measure connects the choice to a calculation. Human review identifies where judgement is needed. Feedback loops helps you check whether the resulting report remains useful.