Concepts
Decision Graph
Decisions are not isolated documents. They influence and constrain one another over time.
Decisions rarely stand alone.
A choice about framework, infrastructure, deployment, or process usually shapes the decisions that come after it. That is why it is useful to think of decisions as a graph of related guidance rather than a pile of disconnected ADRs.
Example
- Frontend framework: React
- Application framework: Next.js
- Routing model: App Router
Each later choice depends on or narrows the earlier ones.
Why The Graph Matters
- pull request checks can compare a change against multiple related decisions
- teams can supersede one decision without losing the chain of reasoning
- developers can retrieve nearby context while coding, not just one exact record
Use Decision Lifecycle next if you want to understand how those linked records evolve.