Files
apf_portal/decisions/0001-use-adrs-to-record-architectural-decisions.md
T
Julien Gautier 880c7ded6b chore: rename project from adastra_portal to apf_portal
The host organisation - APF France Handicap - was confirmed on
2026-04-30. Update all in-repo references to use apf_portal
(snake_case in prose) and apf-portal (kebab-case workspace name and
repo URL). Touched: CLAUDE.md, ADRs 0001/0002/0003/0015, and the Nx
bootstrap setup guide.

The historical name is preserved as a single sentence in ADR-0003 as
a self-validating example of the function-prefixed naming convention
designed exactly for this scenario - the apps (portal-shell,
portal-bff) and the lib conventions (feature-<name>, shared-<scope>)
were unaffected by the rename, which was the explicit point of
ADR-0003.

Memory state aligned out-of-band: project_adastra.md retired,
project_apf_portal.md created with the expanded APF context (host
org, health + financial data scope, ASVS L3 pending RSSI input, UI
stack decision spartan-ng + CDK + Tailwind, expanded phase-3 status).

Pending follow-ups (user-side, not in this commit):
- rename the Gitea repo julien/adastra_portal -> julien/apf_portal
- git remote set-url origin gitea@git.unespace.com:julien/apf_portal.git
- optionally rename the local working directory ~/Works/adastra_portal/
  -> ~/Works/apf_portal/
2026-04-30 13:31:38 +02:00

3.4 KiB

status, date, decision-makers, tags
status date decision-makers tags
accepted 2026-04-29 R&D Lead
process

Use ADRs to record architectural decisions

Context and Problem Statement

Architecturally-significant decisions will be taken throughout the lifecycle of apf-portal. Without a written, durable trace of why a decision was made — context, drivers, alternatives, trade-offs — that knowledge fades within months. New contributors re-litigate settled debates, the rationale of constraints (security, performance, accessibility) gets lost, and reversing a choice later becomes risky because nobody remembers what it was protecting against.

How do we record decisions in a way that is light enough to be sustained, durable enough to outlive contributor turnover, and integrated into the development workflow?

Decision Drivers

  • Preserve the why of each decision so future contributors can understand or revisit it without re-deriving it.
  • Make architecture reviewable — both at the time of a decision and during retrospective audits.
  • Keep the format light enough that writing an ADR isn't a bureaucratic deterrent.
  • Live alongside the code in version control, so decisions evolve with what they govern.
  • Match the project's stated values: high technical bar, no bricolage, security/performance/accessibility as first-class concerns whose rationale must be traceable.

Considered Options

  • No formal records — rely on commit messages and tribal knowledge.
  • External wiki / Confluence — decisions live outside the codebase.
  • ADRs in markdown using the MADR 4.0.0 format, in-repo.
  • ADRs in another format (Nygard, Y-Statement, Cockburn).

Decision Outcome

Chosen option: ADRs in markdown using MADR 4.0.0, stored in decisions/ at the repository root.

Conventions are defined in README.md:

  • flat folder layout (no nested category folders);
  • globally sequential 4-digit numeric prefix (NNNN-kebab-title.md);
  • categorization via the tags: field in the MADR frontmatter, drawn from a canonical vocabulary;
  • status lifecycle: proposedaccepted → optionally deprecated / superseded by ADR-NNNN;
  • index maintained in README.md alongside any ADR change.

Consequences

  • Good, because the why of every architecturally-significant decision is captured at the moment it is made and travels with the code.
  • Good, because ADRs are reviewed via the normal pull-request flow — architecture becomes an explicit team conversation.
  • Good, because MADR provides enough structure (drivers, options, trade-offs) without being heavy.
  • Good, because flat-folder + tags scales better than nested category folders as the count grows.
  • Bad, because writing an ADR adds friction; this must be balanced against the cost of not writing one.
  • Bad, because the index is maintained manually until tooling or a CI check is added.

Confirmation

  • Every change introducing or transitioning the status of an ADR updates the index table in README.md in the same commit.
  • PR review explicitly checks for ADR proposal whenever a non-trivial decision is being introduced.
  • (Future) A CI lint job validates filename pattern, frontmatter shape, and tag vocabulary.

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