Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)

This section contains Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) for the Four-Sided Triangle project. ADRs document the significant architectural decisions made during the development of the system, including the context, alternatives considered, and rationale for each decision.

What are ADRs?

Architecture Decision Records are short text documents that capture important architectural decisions made along with their context and consequences. They help:

• Document the rationale behind architectural choices
• Preserve knowledge for future team members
• Enable informed changes by understanding past decisions
• Improve accountability in architectural choices

ADR Format

Each ADR follows a consistent format:

1. Title: A clear, descriptive title
2. Status: Current status (Proposed, Accepted, Deprecated, Superseded)
3. Context: The situation that motivates the decision
4. Decision: The architectural decision made
5. Consequences: The positive and negative outcomes

Current ADRs

Foundation & Core Architecture

• ADR-0001: Module Naming Conventions
  • Status: Accepted
  • Summary: Establishes consistent naming conventions for modules and components
• ADR-0002: Error Handling Strategy
  • Status: Accepted
  • Summary: Defines comprehensive error handling approach across the system
• ADR-0003: Dependency Injection
  • Status: Accepted
  • Summary: Implements dependency injection pattern for modularity and testability

Pipeline Architecture

• ADR-0004: Pipeline Stage Design
  • Status: Accepted
  • Summary: Eight-stage pipeline architecture with specialized processing
• ADR-0005: Model Lifecycle Management
  • Status: Accepted
  • Summary: Lifecycle management for specialized models across pipeline stages

Quality & Optimization

• ADR-0006: Quality Assurance Approach
  • Status: Accepted
  • Summary: Multi-dimensional quality assessment and Bayesian evaluation frameworks
• ADR-0007: Metacognitive Orchestration
  • Status: Accepted
  • Summary: Central orchestration layer with adaptive intelligence

Infrastructure & Deployment

• ADR-0008: Distributed Computing Strategy
  • Status: Accepted
  • Summary: Scalable distributed computing with Ray and Dask integration
• ADR-0009: Configuration Management
  • Status: Accepted
  • Summary: JSON-based configuration system for flexible deployment

Contributing to ADRs

When making significant architectural decisions:

1. Create a new ADR following the established format
2. Use the next sequential number (e.g., ADR-0010)
3. Include relevant stakeholders in the review process
4. Update this index with a summary of the new ADR
5. Reference related ADRs where appropriate

ADR Templates

Basic ADR Template

---
layout: default
title: ADR-XXXX - [Decision Title]
parent: Architecture Decision Records
---

# ADR-XXXX: [Decision Title]

## Status
[Proposed | Accepted | Deprecated | Superseded by ADR-YYYY]

## Context
[Describe the problem or opportunity that this decision addresses]

## Decision
[Describe the architectural decision made]

## Alternatives Considered
[List other options that were considered and why they were rejected]

## Consequences
### Positive
- [List positive outcomes]

### Negative  
- [List negative outcomes or trade-offs]

## Related ADRs
- [List related ADRs if any]

## References
- [External references or documentation]

Historical Context

The Four-Sided Triangle project began with traditional RAG approaches but evolved into a sophisticated multi-model optimization pipeline. Key architectural evolution points:

1. Initial RAG Implementation → Multi-Model Pipeline (ADR-0004)
2. Monolithic Architecture → Dependency Injection (ADR-0003)
3. Simple Error Handling → Comprehensive Strategy (ADR-0002)
4. Basic Quality Checks → Bayesian Evaluation (ADR-0006)
5. Single Model Processing → Metacognitive Orchestration (ADR-0007)

Superseded Decisions

None currently. All active ADRs remain in effect.

---

For questions about architectural decisions or to propose new ADRs, please create an issue in the project repository.