Decision Records¶

Business Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)—major business and technical decisions.

Overview¶

Decision records document significant business and technical decisions, the context at the time, alternatives considered, and the rationale.

These are immutable. If a decision changes, create a new record that references the original.

Decision Record Format¶

Use format: NNN-decision-title.md

Examples: - 001-llc-vs-scorp.md - 002-pos-selection.md - 003-storefront-location.md - 004-distributor-strategy.md

Number sequentially starting from 001.

Decision Record Template¶

---
title: "Decision Title"
decision_number: NNN
date: YYYY-MM-DD
status: accepted
---

# NNN: Decision Title

## Status
Accepted | Superseded | Deprecated

## Context
What is the issue we're facing? What factors are influencing this decision?

## Decision
What did we decide to do?

## Alternatives Considered
What other options did we evaluate?

## Consequences
What are the expected outcomes, both positive and negative?

## References
Links to related documents, discussions, or analysis.

Types of Decisions¶

Strategic Decisions¶

Business model choices
Market positioning
Major strategic pivots
Expansion decisions

Operational Decisions¶

Supplier selection
Pricing strategy changes
Process changes
Policy decisions

Technical Decisions¶

Technology platform selection
Integration approaches
Infrastructure choices
Security architecture

Legal/Financial Decisions¶

Entity structure
Tax elections
Major contracts
Financing decisions

Updating Decisions¶

If a decision changes:

Do NOT edit the original record
Update the original's status to "superseded"
Create a new decision record
Reference the original decision
Explain what changed and why

Decision records provide historical context. Active planning happens in: - 10_strategy/ for strategic decisions - 01_architecture/ for technical decisions - 30_legal/ for legal decisions