Salesforce Implementation Decision Log
This is a practical guide to building a decision log for a salesforce implementation project — a record of the key decisions made, by whom and why, adapted to the realities of rolling out Salesforce for sales, service or marketing cloud.
What a Decision Log is
A decision log is a record of the key decisions made, by whom and why. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Decision Log. On a salesforce implementation project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Salesforce Implementation project
Salesforce Implementation projects live or die on rolling out Salesforce for sales, service or marketing cloud. A well-built decision log gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how salesforce implementation projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Decision
- Date and owner
- Rationale
- Alternatives considered
- Impact
Salesforce Implementation-specific considerations
Tailor the decision log to the risks that most often derail salesforce implementation projects:
- Over-customisation
- Adoption by the sales team
- Data hygiene and deduplication
Example
On a real salesforce implementation project, the decision log would be shaped by rolling out Salesforce for sales, service or marketing cloud. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — over-customisation, adoption by the sales team, data hygiene and deduplication — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.