Best practices for implementing ADRs in your organization
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 7:00 am
1. Keep meetings short and effective
Limit ADR meetings to 30–45 minutes to maintain focus and avoid distractions. Use formats like readout meetings to begin with 10–15 minutes of silent reading before discussing.
2. Invite the right team
Include key profiles from each affected area, but avoid meetings with more than 10 people. Ideally, a flexible and diverse group is ideal.
3. A decision by ADR
Each ADR should focus on a single decision. If multiple issues arise, divide them into separate documents to maintain clarity.
4. Separate design from decision
Use design documents to explore options c level contact list and alternatives. The ADR should focus on the conclusion, linking to those documents for reference.
5. Follow up and close the loop
Review comments, answer questions, and seek consensus. The ADR author should integrate team feedback, fostering collaboration and shared responsibility.
6. Decide in time
Don't drag out the process: Most decisions can be finalized in 1–3 sessions. Many are reversible and can be reviewed later.
7. Store ADRs in a common location
Keep ADRs in a repository accessible to the entire team, such as a directory within the code repository or a shared technical wiki.
8. Prioritize what is important
Focus on decisions with high architectural impact, cost, or risk. Use a clear and contextualized problem to highlight the urgency of the decision.
9. Avoid delaying what is critical
Decisions that affect the technical direction shouldn't be postponed for more than two or three sprints. Acting decisively avoids future blockages.
10. Be adaptable, not speculative
Avoid making decisions based on an uncertain future. Prioritize qualities like observability, progressive scalability, and resilience , rather than long-term assumptions.
11. Decide on a real basis
Use tangible requirements and direct experience. Set aside vendor bias or sarcasm, and recognize your own limitations.
12. Take care of the writing
An ADR should be clear, concise, and well-written. Simple decisions can be summarized in a few lines; complex ones deserve a detailed explanation.
13. Divide complex decisions into stages
Sometimes it's not possible to decide everything at once. Divide the process into short-, medium-, and long-term decisions, and review them as the system evolves.
14. Indicate the level of confidence
Be transparent about the level of certainty surrounding each decision. Some ADRs can be reviewed later, while others are finalized as agreements between stakeholders.
Limit ADR meetings to 30–45 minutes to maintain focus and avoid distractions. Use formats like readout meetings to begin with 10–15 minutes of silent reading before discussing.
2. Invite the right team
Include key profiles from each affected area, but avoid meetings with more than 10 people. Ideally, a flexible and diverse group is ideal.
3. A decision by ADR
Each ADR should focus on a single decision. If multiple issues arise, divide them into separate documents to maintain clarity.
4. Separate design from decision
Use design documents to explore options c level contact list and alternatives. The ADR should focus on the conclusion, linking to those documents for reference.
5. Follow up and close the loop
Review comments, answer questions, and seek consensus. The ADR author should integrate team feedback, fostering collaboration and shared responsibility.
6. Decide in time
Don't drag out the process: Most decisions can be finalized in 1–3 sessions. Many are reversible and can be reviewed later.
7. Store ADRs in a common location
Keep ADRs in a repository accessible to the entire team, such as a directory within the code repository or a shared technical wiki.
8. Prioritize what is important
Focus on decisions with high architectural impact, cost, or risk. Use a clear and contextualized problem to highlight the urgency of the decision.
9. Avoid delaying what is critical
Decisions that affect the technical direction shouldn't be postponed for more than two or three sprints. Acting decisively avoids future blockages.
10. Be adaptable, not speculative
Avoid making decisions based on an uncertain future. Prioritize qualities like observability, progressive scalability, and resilience , rather than long-term assumptions.
11. Decide on a real basis
Use tangible requirements and direct experience. Set aside vendor bias or sarcasm, and recognize your own limitations.
12. Take care of the writing
An ADR should be clear, concise, and well-written. Simple decisions can be summarized in a few lines; complex ones deserve a detailed explanation.
13. Divide complex decisions into stages
Sometimes it's not possible to decide everything at once. Divide the process into short-, medium-, and long-term decisions, and review them as the system evolves.
14. Indicate the level of confidence
Be transparent about the level of certainty surrounding each decision. Some ADRs can be reviewed later, while others are finalized as agreements between stakeholders.