ADR-___: Decision title
Status: Proposed / Accepted / Superseded / Rejected
Date:
Owners:
Related requirements/risks:
Context
Describe the user outcome, constraints, current architecture, and failure that makes a decision necessary.
Decision drivers
Rank the drivers:
- safety/authority;
- correctness/quality;
- durability/recovery;
- latency;
- cost;
- team ownership;
- portability;
- implementation complexity.
Options considered
Option A
- Design:
- Benefits:
- Costs:
- Failure modes:
- Evidence/evals:
Option B
- Design:
- Benefits:
- Costs:
- Failure modes:
- Evidence/evals:
Option C
- Design:
- Benefits:
- Costs:
- Failure modes:
- Evidence/evals:
Decision
State the chosen option and tie it to the dominant constraints.
Consequences
Positive
Negative
Risks and mitigations
Validation
How the team will prove the decision works:
- tests;
- eval metrics;
- failure injection;
- SLO/cost measurements;
- security review;
- rollout plan.
Revisit triggers
State measurable conditions that would justify changing the decision.
Examples:
- traffic exceeds 10× current load;
- one capability requires a separate trust boundary;
- fallback quality falls below gate;
- workflow history approaches runtime limits;
- organizational ownership changes.