Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)
When I advised a professional appliance maker last year why and how to introduce Continuous Delivery, I needed a way to discuss proposed decisions and to document them. Not long before the project start, I had come across the article Documenting Architecture Decisions from 2011, where Michael Nygard introduces Architecture Decisions Records (ADRs).
ADRs were exactly what I needed! And even a bit more. I could use them for decisions about system architecture, team structure, development process - and any other decision.
After the interviews with the development teams and with their stakeholders, managers and executives, I would write down the important topics requiring a decision. I would describe the context, possible options, the consequences of the decision and my recommended decision.