|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +id: 000 |
| 3 | +title: "Establish an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) Process for Documenting Key Decisions" |
| 4 | +status: "Accepted" |
| 5 | +date: "2025-07-03" |
| 6 | +--- |
| 7 | + |
| 8 | +# ADR [000]: Establish an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) Process for Documenting Key Decisions |
| 9 | + |
| 10 | +**Date Proposed:** 2025-07-03 |
| 11 | +**Status:** Accepted |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +**Participants** |
| 14 | +- [@alexlovelltroy](https://github.com/alexlovelltroy) |
| 15 | +- [@cjh1](https://github.com/cjh1) |
| 16 | +- [@haroldlongley](https://github.com/haroldlongley) |
| 17 | +- [@j0hnL](https://github.com/j0hnL) |
| 18 | +- [@mdklein](https://github.com/mdklein) |
| 19 | +- [@rainest](https://github.com/rainest) |
| 20 | +- [@trcotton](https://github.com/trcotton) |
| 21 | +- [@adamhough](https://github.com/adamhough) |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +--- |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +**Context:** |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +Implement an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) process to systematically document and maintain key architectural and technical decisions. |
| 28 | +Benefits: |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +- Transparency: Provides a clear history of decisions and the reasoning behind them. |
| 31 | +- Consistency: Ensures decisions are documented in a uniform manner. |
| 32 | +- Onboarding: Helps new contributors understand past decisions and the project's direction. |
| 33 | +- Reference: Serves as a centralized repository for decision-making, reducing redundancy and confusion. |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +--- |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +**Decision:** |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +## Summary of Decisions from 2025 OpenCHAMI Summit |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +### Timing Constraints for ADR Decisions |
| 42 | +- Proposals should be decided within **6 weeks** of submission. |
| 43 | +- Ensures at least one monthly **TSC meeting** can used to review the proposal if needed. |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +### Revised Acceptance Criteria |
| 46 | +- Move away from approval by just **2 TSC members**. |
| 47 | +- Require a **majority vote** from the TSC. |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +### ADR Template Improvements |
| 50 | +- Add a section for **“Other Options Considered”** to document alternative approaches considered. |
| 51 | +- Include **“Non-goals”** and **points of contention** to clarify scope and disagreements. |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +### Dashboard for ADR Requests |
| 54 | +- Desire for a **visual board** showing ADRs pending review or decision. |
| 55 | +- Should include: |
| 56 | + - Status updates |
| 57 | + - Expected decision timelines |
| 58 | + - Notifications when new ADRs are added |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +### Handling Low-Frequency TSC Meetings |
| 61 | +- Monthly meetings are too infrequent for timely decisions. |
| 62 | +- Suggest handling ADRs **asynchronously**, similar to [OpenCHAMI/roadmap#95](https://github.com/OpenCHAMI/roadmap/issues/95). |
| 63 | + - Maintain a board of ADRs expected to be discussed. |
| 64 | + - Announce new ADRs when added. |
| 65 | + - Require a **minimum 6-week lead time** before decisions. |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +### ADR Number Reservation |
| 68 | +- Add instructions in the ADR README: |
| 69 | + - How to **reserve a number** by creating a branch with the number included. |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +--- |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +**Other Options Considered:** |
| 74 | +No other options considers as this is required. |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | +--- |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +**Consequences:** |
| 79 | +## If No ADR process were defined: |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +1. **Lost Rationale** |
| 82 | + No record of *why* decisions were made → confusion and repeated debates. |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +2. **Knowledge Drain** |
| 85 | + Decisions leave with people → hard to maintain continuity. |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +3. **Repetition & Waste** |
| 88 | + Teams revisit the same issues → slows progress and wastes time. |
| 89 | + |
| 90 | +4. **Poor Accountability** |
| 91 | + No traceability → harder to learn from mistakes or improve. |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +5. **Misalignment** |
| 94 | + Stakeholders may misunderstand decisions → leads to friction and rework. |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | +6. **Architectural Drift** |
| 97 | + Inconsistent decisions over time → increases technical debt. |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +--- |
| 100 | + |
| 101 | +**Non-Goals:** |
| 102 | +N/A |
| 103 | + |
| 104 | +--- |
| 105 | + |
| 106 | +**Points of Contention:** |
| 107 | +N/A |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | +--- |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +**Notes:** |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | + - [ ] Create ADR instructions in this repository |
| 114 | + - [ ] Establish automation for votes and timeouts |
| 115 | + - [ ] Establish dashboard(s) for use at TSC meetings |
| 116 | + |
| 117 | +--- |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +**References:** |
| 120 | +- [OpenCHAMI roadmap issue #98](https://github.com/OpenCHAMI/roadmap/issues/98) |
| 121 | +- [AWS ADR Process](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/architectural-decision-records/adr-process.html) |
| 122 | +- [GitHub adr organization](https://adr.github.io/) |
| 123 | +- [Timing Architectural Decisions (ADs)](https://ozimmer.ch/assets/presos/ZIO-ITARCKeynoteTADv101p.pdf) |
| 124 | +- [Alex Lovell-Troy's `adrctl`](https://github.com/alexlovelltroy/adrctl) |
| 125 | +- ADR Template in this repository [template.md](/adr/template.md) |
0 commit comments