ADR Repository

# Architecture Decision Records (ADR) Repository

# Overview 📚

Welcome to our team's Architecture Decision Records (ADR) repository! This repository serves as a central hub for documenting all significant architectural decisions made during the development of our projects. Each ADR captures the context, decision, and consequences of architectural choices. This ensures we maintain a shared understanding of our systems, learn from past experiences, and onboard new team members more effectively.

# Documentation Site Build and Deployment 📖

We use Vuepress (opens new window)

# Purpose 🎯

The ADR repository helps us:

  • Document decisions: Capture the key decisions made along with their context and implications.
  • Share knowledge: Provide a shared understanding that can be useful for everyone in the team, from new hires to stakeholders.
  • Facilitate discussion: Help discuss the pros and cons of various approaches to solving specific architectural problems.
  • Improve decision making: Aid in the future decision-making process, allowing us to reflect on past choices and their outcomes.

# How to Use This Repository 🛠️

# File Name Conventions for ADRs

We use a specific naming convention for our ADR files to enhance readability and consistency with our other documentation practices:

  • Verb Phrase: Each file name starts with a present tense imperative verb phrase, such as choose-database or manage-passwords.
  • Lowercase and Dashes: All file names are in lowercase and use dashes to separate words.
  • Markdown Extension: Files are saved with the .md extension to leverage markdown formatting for easy readability and editing.

# Examples

  • choose-database.md
  • format-timestamps.md
  • manage-passwords.md
  • handle-exceptions.md

# Adding New ADRs

  1. Create a File: When you make a new architectural decision, create a markdown file following our naming convention.
  2. Document the Decision: Use the template provided below to document the decision, its context, and its consequences.

# Review and Discussion

Team members are encouraged to review and discuss proposed ADRs through pull requests. This promotes collective understanding and refinement of our approaches.

# Updating ADRs

As our projects evolve, previously made decisions may need to be revisited and updated. Amendments to an ADR should be discussed and agreed upon just like the initial decision.

# ADR Template 📝

Below is the template to be used for new ADRs:

# {Title of the ADR}

**Date**: {YYYY-MM-DD}

## Status
{Proposed | Accepted | Deprecated | Superseded}

## Context
The context section outlines the issue that the ADR addresses. Include any pertinent details that influence the described architecture decision.

## Decision
Here, we record the actual decision made.

## Consequences
This section describes the resulting context after applying the decision. Include the positive and negative outcomes.

## References
(Optional) Any references to external documents, standards, or other relevant materials.

# The Future is Bright ☀️

As we continue to innovate and push the boundaries of what's possible, we are excited about the potential of leveraging machine learning on our Architecture Decision Records (ADRs). Our goal is to make our documentation more interactive, accessible, and insightful.

# Natural Language Queries and Beyond 🚀

By feeding our ADRs into a sophisticated language model, we aim to create a system that can answer natural language queries about our software architecture. This will allow us to interact with our documentation in a more intuitive and conversational manner. Imagine being able to ask "What was the reason for choosing technology X?" or "What are the trade-offs of decision Y?" and getting a direct, meaningful response.

But that's not all. The power of machine learning means that our system will continually learn and improve. As we feed it more data, it will become more accurate and insightful, providing us with deeper understanding of our architectural decisions.

# Looking Forward 🌈

We are just at the beginning of this exciting journey. As we continue to refine our models and processes, we can expect to see even more benefits. From improved decision-making to more efficient knowledge sharing, the future of our documentation is bright. We can't wait to see where this journey takes us!

# Contributing 🤝

We encourage contributions to the ADR repository (opens new window). If you have any suggestions, improvements, or new ADRs, please submit a pull request or raise an issue.

Let’s collaboratively solve problems and build better software! 🚀