documentation-and-adrs

To write an architecture decision record (ADR), capture the context, alternatives, status, and consequences of choosing a framework. This ensures the technical reasoning remains durable and discoverable for future maintainers.

A README for a complex software project should include a clear quick start guide, command list, architecture overview, and release history. Keeping this documentation aligned prevents the loss of critical project context over time.

You need to document architectural decisions when changing public APIs, shipping features, choosing infrastructure, or selecting databases. Recording this context prevents future teams from repeating old debates or losing critical reasoning.

The best way to document API design choices is to add inline documentation and comments that explain intent, edge cases, and non-obvious behavior rather than restating code. This preserves the reasoning behind public API changes.

Yes, this ADR approach works for infrastructure and authentication strategy changes by recording significant choices with their context and consequences. It ensures decisions about infrastructure remain discoverable for future engineering work.

Recording context and alternatives when changing public APIs is necessary to preserve the reasoning behind technical choices. Without this documentation, future engineering work might repeat old debates or lose critical project context.