Purpose

This Standard defines Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) as the canonical engineering artifact for documenting significant architectural decisions.

Architecture Decisions preserve engineering rationale and architectural history.

Standard

Significant architectural decisions shall be documented through Architecture Decision Records.

ADRs preserve engineering intent independently of implementation.

Architecture Decisions remain traceable throughout the engineering lifecycle.

Principles

Architecture Decision Records shall:

• preserve architectural rationale
• document alternatives
• improve engineering transparency
• preserve historical context
• support governance
• support Architecture Reviews
• improve organizational learning

Required Contents

Architecture Decision Records should include:

• Identifier
• Title
• Status
• Context
• Decision
• Rationale
• Alternatives Considered
• Consequences
• Related Standards
• Related Specifications
• Related ADRs

Engineering Workflow

Engineering Problem
        ↓
Architecture Analysis
        ↓
Architecture Decision Record
        ↓
Architecture Review
        ↓
Implementation

Traceability

ADRs should reference:

• Specifications
• Standards
• Architecture Reviews
• Implementation Reports
• Related ADRs

Engineering decisions should remain traceable.

Status Lifecycle

Recommended statuses:

• Proposed
• Accepted
• Revised
• Superseded
• Deprecated

Status changes should remain documented.

Relationship to Architecture Reviews

Architecture Reviews evaluate engineering artifacts using accepted Architecture Decision Records as governing architectural references.

Relationship to Human-Governed Engineering

Human governance applies to all Architecture Decision Records, per STD-0008 — Human-Governed Engineering.

Acceptance of ADRs requires human approval.

Relationship to AI-Assisted Engineering

Per STD-0011 — AI-Assisted Engineering, AI may assist with:

• drafting ADRs
• analyzing alternatives
• documenting rationale

AI shall not autonomously approve Architecture Decisions.

Compliance

Engineering work conforms when:

• Significant architectural decisions are documented.
• Decisions remain traceable.
• ADR status is maintained.
• Architectural rationale is preserved.

Future Evolution

Future Standards may define:

• Decision Taxonomy
• Governance Decision Records
• Engineering Decision Records
• Automated Decision Analysis
• Cross-Repository Decision Graphs