Architecture Decision Records (ADR) System
A complete Notion template system for documenting, tracking, and searching architecture decisions across your engineering organization. Never lose context on why a technical decision was made.
Key Features
- Structured ADR templates with status lifecycle (Proposed → Accepted → Deprecated → Superseded)
- Context linking — relate decisions to projects, components, and other ADRs
- Searchable decision history with filters by status, date, author, and domain
- Impact assessment matrix for evaluating trade-offs before committing
- Supersession chain — track which decisions replaced earlier ones
- Review workflow with approval states and reviewer assignments
Database Schema
ADR Registry (Primary Database)
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ADR Title | Title | Short descriptive name (e.g., "Use PostgreSQL for user data") |
| ADR Number | Number | Auto-incrementing identifier (ADR-001, ADR-002, …) |
| Status | Select |
Proposed · Accepted · Deprecated · Superseded
|
| Decision Date | Date | When the decision was formally accepted |
| Author | Person | Engineer who authored the ADR |
| Reviewers | Person (multi) | Engineers who reviewed and approved |
| Domain | Multi-select |
Backend · Frontend · Infrastructure · Data · Security · DevOps
|
| Impact Level | Select |
Low · Medium · High · Critical
|
| Supersedes | Relation → ADR Registry | Link to the ADR this one replaces |
| Superseded By | Relation → ADR Registry | Link to the ADR that replaced this one |
| Related Project | Relation → Projects | Associated project or initiative |
| Context | Text (long) | Problem statement and background |
| Decision | Text (long) | The decision itself — clear and specific |
| Consequences | Text (long) | Expected positive and negative outcomes |
| Alternatives Considered | Text (long) | Options evaluated and why they were rejected |
| Tags | Multi-select | Free-form tags for additional filtering |
Projects Database (Linked)
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Project Name | Title | Name of the project or component |
| Status | Select |
Active · Completed · Archived
|
| ADRs | Relation → ADR Registry | All decisions related to this project |
| Team | Multi-select | Owning team(s) |
Quick Start
- Duplicate the template — Click "Duplicate" in the top-right corner of the shared Notion page
- Review the sample ADRs — Three example records are pre-filled to show the format
- Write your first ADR — Use the "New ADR" button template to create a properly structured record
- Set up views — The template includes Board (by status), Table (full detail), and Timeline views
- Share with your team — Invite engineers to the workspace for collaborative reviews
Usage Guide
Writing an ADR
Every ADR follows a four-section structure embedded in the page body:
- Context — What problem are we solving? What constraints exist?
- Decision — What did we decide? Be specific and unambiguous.
- Consequences — What are the trade-offs? List both positive and negative outcomes.
- Alternatives Considered — What else did we evaluate? Why was it rejected?
ADR Lifecycle
Proposed → Under Review → Accepted → (optionally) Deprecated or Superseded
When a decision is superseded, link the new ADR using the "Supersedes" relation. The old ADR automatically shows "Superseded By" via the two-way relation.
Recommended Views
| View | Type | Filter | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Decisions | Table | Status = Accepted | Day-to-day reference |
| Review Queue | Board | Status = Proposed | Weekly ADR review meeting |
| By Domain | Board | Group by Domain | Domain-specific decision audit |
| Timeline | Timeline | Decision Date | Historical decision chronology |
| Deprecated | Table | Status ∈ {Deprecated, Superseded} | Archaeology and context recovery |
Template Examples
Example ADR: Database Selection
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ADR Title | Use PostgreSQL for user service data store |
| ADR Number | 14 |
| Status | Accepted |
| Decision Date | 2025-11-15 |
| Domain | Backend, Data |
| Impact Level | High |
| Context | The user service needs a persistent data store that supports complex queries, ACID transactions, and scales to 10M rows. |
| Decision | Use PostgreSQL 16 with read replicas for the user service. |
| Consequences | Strong query flexibility; operational overhead for replica management; team already has PG expertise. |
| Alternatives | DynamoDB (rejected: query flexibility), MySQL (rejected: JSON support weaker), MongoDB (rejected: transaction complexity). |
Example ADR: API Versioning Strategy
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ADR Title | Adopt URL-path versioning for public APIs |
| ADR Number | 22 |
| Status | Accepted |
| Domain | Backend, Frontend |
| Impact Level | Medium |
Customization Tips
- Add a "Cost Estimate" number property if decisions have budget implications
- Create a "Decision Review Date" formula that flags ADRs older than 12 months for re-evaluation
- Add a "Compliance" multi-select (SOC2, HIPAA, GDPR) for regulated environments
- Link to your wiki by adding a URL property for external documentation references
- Use Notion AI to summarize long ADR context sections into one-line summaries for board views
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