Architecture Decision Recorder

The Challenge

Architectural decisions happen in meetings and Slack threads but rarely get documented. When questions arise later, teams can't find why decisions were made.

The AI Desk Solution

AI Desk creates Architecture Decision Records from discussions, capturing context, options, and rationale.

The Workflow

Step 1: Decision Detection

Trigger: Design discussion or meeting
Sources: Slack threads, meeting notes, docs

Step 2: ADR Generation

• Extract decision context
• Document alternatives
• Capture rationale

Step 3: ADR Document

📋 ADR-047: Message Queue Selection

STATUS: Accepted
DATE: Apr 12, 2026
DECIDERS: Platform Team

CONTEXT
We need a message queue for the new
event-driven architecture. Current volume
is 10K messages/day, projected to grow
to 100K within 6 months.

Requirements:
├── At-least-once delivery
├── Message ordering within partition
├── Horizontal scalability
├── Cloud-native (AWS preferred)
└── Team familiarity consideration

OPTIONS CONSIDERED

Option 1: Amazon SQS
├── Pros: Simple, managed, cheap
├── Cons: No ordering, limited features
└── Team experience: High

Option 2: Amazon Kinesis
├── Pros: Ordering, replay, scalable
├── Cons: More complex, higher cost
└── Team experience: Medium

Option 3: Apache Kafka (MSK)
├── Pros: Full-featured, industry standard
├── Cons: Operational overhead, cost
└── Team experience: Low

DECISION
We will use Amazon Kinesis because:
├── Ordering requirement is critical
├── Replay capability valuable for debugging
├── Managed service reduces ops burden
├── Team can skill up (training planned)

CONSEQUENCES
├── Additional training needed (2 weeks)
├── Higher cost (~$500/mo initially)
├── Better debugging capabilities
├── Easier future migration to Kafka
└── Design pattern documentation needed

RELATED DECISIONS
├── ADR-042: Event-driven architecture
├── ADR-045: AWS as primary cloud
└── ADR-046: Microservices boundaries

Value Proposition

• Time Saved: 1 hour per ADR
• Institutional Memory: Decisions captured
• Onboarding Aid: New engineers understand why