Choosing a language or technology stack: Documented technology decisions
A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 7 details that are specific to your organisation.
- Length
- 35 min
- Lessons
- 6 lessons
- Frequency
- When a team starts a new system
- Last reviewed
- 21 Oct 2026
A database you depend on changes its licence
Try it: this is one of 14 interactive activities in the course.
What's included
Three pieces that work together
Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.
Self-paced course
Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.
- 6 lessons, about 35 minutes
- Scenario, process, timeline, accordion and quizzes
Live session deck
An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.
- 10 slides
- Quiz, poll, ranking, word cloud slides
- A closing slide for your contacts
Two surveys
Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.
- Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
- 30-day check-in
- Anonymous by default
- Results feed your next refresher
Learning objectives
At the end of this course, learners can
Each objective and the lesson that covers it.
| ID | Objective | Source | Where it's covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| TO 344.0 | Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessment | - | Whole course |
| SO 344.1 | Set decision criteria before comparing options | Best practice | Whole course |
| SO 344.2 | Weigh licence, support, cost and team skills for each option | Best practice; open-source licence compliance [check before build] | Whole course |
| SO 344.3 | Score options with a simple weighted table and explain the result | Best practice | Whole course |
| SO 344.4 | Write an architecture decision record others can understand | Architecture decision records (practice, not a standard) | Whole course |
| SO 344.5 | Set a date to revisit the decision + your info | Organisation's architecture governance | Whole course |
Your part: what a template can't do for you
- Your workplace details: fill in the 7 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
- Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.
Course outline
6 lessons, about 35 minutes
Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.
1A rewrite that nobody could justify
3 pages
7 min
A rewrite that nobody could justify
3 pages
2Criteria for choosing a stack
3 pages
6 min
Criteria for choosing a stack
3 pages
3Licences, support and cost
3 pages
6 min
Licences, support and cost
3 pages
4Documenting the decision
3 pages
6 min
Documenting the decision
3 pages
5Reviewing and revisiting decisions
3 pages
6 min
Reviewing and revisiting decisions
3 pages
6Final assessment
2 pages
4 min
Final assessment
2 pages
Live deck and surveys
10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop
Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
- Overall rating 5 stars
- Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
- What was most useful? multi-select
- Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
- Confidence in criteria · licences · scoring · records · revisiting grid
- Where are technology decisions recorded? multiple choice
- Which past decision is hardest to explain now? short text
- I can say ‘we have not compared options yet’ without feeling judged. 1-5 scale
- One thing we should change or add open text
- Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
- Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
- How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
- Do you know where to find the decision record template and licence policy? yes / no / not sure
- A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
- Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking
Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.
Make it yours
7 fields to fill in, and you're ready
Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.
- Link to the open-source and software licence policy
{{LICENCE_POLICY_LINK}} - Who to ask for help or to report a concern
{{HELP_CONTACT}} - Link to the engineering standards or style guide
{{ENGINEERING_STANDARDS_LINK}} - Where completion is recorded
{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}} - Link to the post-course and 30-day survey
{{SURVEY_2_URL}} - Link to the self-paced course
{{COURSE_URL}}
Show all 7 fields
- Link to the baseline survey
{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
FAQ
Common questions
Can I run choosing a language or technology stack: Documented technology decisions training online?
Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.
How often is this training needed?
When a team starts a new system, and at tech-lead onboarding.
Who needs this training?
Tech leads, architects and product teams; run by engineering leads with L&D.
What records should I keep?
Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.
Can I edit the content?
Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.
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Ready to run it?
Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.