documentation-and-adrs

Architecture decision records capture design rationales and trade-offs to ensure future teams understand why specific architectural choices were made. They prevent knowledge loss and misalignment by providing traceable context for systems, APIs, and public interfaces.

Document architectural decisions by drafting an ADR with clear context and consequences, then store it in a structured docs/decisions directory. Use standardized ADR templates to capture the rationale and ensure consistent inline documentation guidance in code references.

You need to create an ADR whenever your project requires traceable decisions across systems, APIs, or public interfaces. ADRs are essential for governance and onboarding to preserve the rationale behind architectural choices for future engineers and agents.

Yes, this approach supports the full ADR lifecycle, allowing you to create, store, and reference architecture decision records across multiple systems. It ensures consistent context and consequences are maintained throughout the governance process.

The best way to structure inline documentation is to follow best-practice guidelines for in-code comments and public API docs. This ensures that architectural decisions and design rationales are consistently referenced within the codebase.

Yes, a standardized ADR template is required to capture architectural decisions consistently. The template ensures that context, consequences, and design rationales are formatted properly for future engineers reviewing the docs/decisions directory.