Architecture Decision Records

Comprehensive patterns for creating, maintaining, and managing Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) that capture the context and rationale behind significant technical decisions.

Use this skill when

• Making significant architectural decisions
• Documenting technology choices
• Recording design trade-offs
• Onboarding new team members
• Reviewing historical decisions
• Establishing decision-making processes

Do not use this skill when

• You only need to document small implementation details
• The change is a minor patch or routine maintenance
• There is no architectural decision to capture

Instructions

1. Capture the decision context, constraints, and drivers.
2. Document considered options with tradeoffs.
3. Record the decision, rationale, and consequences.
4. Link related ADRs and update status over time.

Core Concepts

1. What is an ADR?

An Architecture Decision Record captures:

• Context: Why we needed to make a decision
• Decision: What we decided
• Consequences: What happens as a result

2. When to Write an ADR

Write ADR	Skip ADR
New framework adoption	Minor version upgrades
Database technology choice	Bug fixes
API design patterns	Implementation details
Security architecture	Routine maintenance
Integration patterns	Configuration changes

3. ADR Lifecycle

Proposed → Accepted → Deprecated → Superseded
              ↓
           Rejected

Templates

Template 1: Standard ADR (MADR Format)

# ADR-0001: Use PostgreSQL as Primary Database

## Status

Accepted

## Context

We need to select a primary database for our new e-commerce platform. The system
will handle:
- ~10,000 concurrent users
- Complex product catalog with hierarchical categories
- Transaction processing for orders and payments
- Full-text search for products
- Geospatial queries for store locator