The PAT Log.
PAT stands for Problems, Alignments, Touchpoints. It's how SAGE organizes the running record of a program — not as four parallel lists (the classic RAID approach) but as threaded problems with the decisions, meetings, actions, and outcomes linked to each one. If you've used a RAID log, the PAT Log is the evolution.
What's in the PAT Log
- Problem (P)
- The root entry. A problem is anything the program needs to resolve — a risk that might materialize, an issue that has, a dependency that's not confirmed, an assumption that's exposed. Every other PAT item links to a Problem.
- Alignment (A)
- A decision made about a Problem. Alignments carry the decision's rationale, approver, forum (from WS09 Decision Hierarchy), and date — so six months later the decision is retrievable, not remembered.
- Touchpoint (T)
- A meeting, review, or working session where Problems get discussed and Alignments are reached. Touchpoints carry agendas, attendees, and the items discussed — turning a meeting from an ephemeral event into a searchable record.
Actions and Decisions sit alongside the PAT log as linked entities — each one tied back to the Problem, Alignment, or Touchpoint that spawned it. So "why is this action open?" is always answerable.
PAT vs RAID
RAID organizes work into four parallel lists (Risks, Actions, Issues, Decisions) that share no obvious structure. PAT organizes work around a problem thread — so the four RAID concepts are still present, but they're connected. A problem thread might contain three alignments, five linked actions, two decisions, and twelve touchpoints — all searchable and traversable from the root.
If you're already running a RAID log and it works for you, the PAT approach mainly buys you better traceability over the history of a program. If you've ever had to reconstruct "why did we do that?" a year after it happened, you'll appreciate the difference.
When the PAT Log runs
The PAT Log is live for the entire program lifecycle — from the first Problem captured in Situation through the hypercare defect triage in Embed. It's the single place where the program's running reality is tracked.