Architecture Decision Record

Overview

Produce rigorous Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) that capture the context, options, tradeoffs, and rationale behind significant technical decisions. ADRs are durable artifacts — they explain why a decision was made so that future teams don't relitigate settled questions.

When to Use

• Choosing a technology, framework, or platform
• Evaluating build vs buy
• Selecting an architectural pattern (monolith vs microservices, event-driven vs request-response, etc.)
• Making infrastructure decisions (cloud provider, database, messaging system)
• Any technical decision that affects multiple teams, is expensive to reverse, or will be questioned later

Instructions

Step 1: Define the Decision

Ask the user for (skip what's already provided):

1. What decision needs to be made? — One clear sentence.
2. Why does this decision matter? — Business or technical impact.
3. What are the constraints? — Timeline, budget, team skills, compliance, existing systems.
4. Who are the stakeholders? — Who needs to approve or be informed?
5. What options are being considered? — At least 2, ideally 3–4.

Step 2: Structure the ADR

Follow the template in references/adr-template.md. Every section is required.

Apply these principles:

• Balanced analysis: Present every option fairly before recommending. Show genuine pros AND cons for each — including the recommended option.
• Decision drivers first: List the criteria that matter most before evaluating options. This prevents post-hoc rationalization.
• Quantify tradeoffs: Cost in dollars, latency in milliseconds, migration effort in weeks. Avoid "better" / "worse" without metrics.
• Acknowledge uncertainty: If an option has unknowns, say so. "Vendor X's pricing at scale is unclear — we estimate $Y based on similar workloads" is better than a false-precision number.
• Reversibility: Explicitly state whether the decision is easily reversible or a one-way door.

Step 3: Make the Recommendation

The ADR must include a clear recommendation with rationale. Structure as:

1. Decision: State the chosen option in one sentence.
2. Rationale: Why this option best satisfies the decision drivers.
3. Tradeoffs accepted: What downsides are being accepted and why they're tolerable.
4. Conditions for revisiting: Under what circumstances should this decision be reconsidered?

Step 4: Document Consequences

List both positive and negative consequences of the decision:

• What becomes easier as a result of this decision
• What becomes harder as a result of this decision
• Follow-up actions required to implement the decision
• Compliance notes if the decision has regulatory or security implications

Step 5: Format and Deliver

Output as a structured Markdown document following the ADR template. Use precise, technical language. The ADR should be understandable by a senior engineer joining the project 6 months from now.

Output Format

A single Markdown document following the ADR template. Typical length: 2–5 pages. Each option gets a structured analysis. The recommendation is unambiguous. The document is self-contained — a reader needs no additional context.

References

• See adr-template.md for the complete ADR template with field guidance