Michael Nygard
Practitioner-author — coined Architecture Decision Record (ADR) in 2011
Software architect who popularised lightweight Architecture Decision Records — context, decision, status, consequences — stored in the project repository.
Michael Nygard is a software practitioner and author (Release It!, Architecture without an End State). In 2011 he published Documenting Architecture Decisions on the Cognitect blog — the post that coined the term “Architecture Decision Record” (ADR) and the lightweight markdown template most teams still mean when they say “ADR.”
What we cite
- Origin of “ADR” — short, in-repo records for architecturally significant decisions; Alexandrian / pattern-like prose; Title · Context · Decision · Status · Consequences.
- Motivation — preserve why a decision was made so future developers avoid blind acceptance or blind reversal; supersede instead of delete when decisions change.
- Influence — acknowledged Philippe Kruchten on the importance of recording architecture decisions; Martin Fowler summarises Nygard as coining the term while noting earlier decision-log practice.
Corpus stance
Context A2 — cite Nygard for industry ADR origin and template; do not attribute Genesis (A)DR extensions (epistemic tiers, falsification triggers, L0 commit, contest path) to this post. See Architecture Decision Record and Architectural Decision Records.