ADR-0002: Use Markdown for Architectural Decision Records

• Status: accepted
• Date: 2024-05-08
• Tags: doc

Context and Problem Statement

We want to record architectural decisions made in this project. Which format and structure should these records follow?

Considered Options

• MADR 2.1.2 with Log4brains patch
• MADR 2.1.2 – The original Markdown Architectural Decision Records
• Michael Nygard’s template – The first incarnation of the term “ADR”
• Sustainable Architectural Decisions – The Y-Statements
• Other templates listed at https://github.com/joelparkerhenderson/architecture_decision_record
• Formless – No conventions for file format and structure

Decision Outcome

Chosen option: “MADR 2.1.2 with Log4brains patch”, because

• Implicit assumptions should be made explicit. Design documentation is important to enable people understanding the decisions later on. See also A rational design process: How and why to fake it.
• The MADR format is lean and fits our development style.
• The MADR structure is comprehensible and facilitates usage & maintenance.
• The MADR project is vivid.
• Version 2.1.2 is the latest one available when starting to document ADRs.
• The Log4brains patch adds more features, like tags.

The “Log4brains patch” performs the following modifications to the original template:

• Change the ADR filenames format (NNN-adr-name becomes YYYYMMDD-adr-name), to avoid conflicts during Git merges.
• Add a draft status, to enable collaborative writing.
• Add a Tags field.

Links

• Relates to Use Log4brains to manage the ADRs