Use Claude to Write Architecture Decision Records

Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) capture why you made a technical choice, not just what you chose. They're invaluable six months later — and Claude can write them from a quick explanation.

Ask Claude: "I chose PostgreSQL over MongoDB because our data has strong relational
requirements and we need ACID transactions. Write an ADR using the Nygard format,
including alternatives we considered and their trade-offs."

Claude generates a properly structured Markdown ADR covering context, the decision, alternatives considered, and consequences:

# ADR-001: Use PostgreSQL for Primary Data Store

## Status
Accepted

## Context
Our application manages financial transactions requiring strong consistency
guarantees and complex relational queries across multiple entities.

## Decision
We will use PostgreSQL as the primary data store.

## Alternatives Considered
- **MongoDB**: Rejected — flexible schema offers little benefit given our
  well-defined domain model, and lack of multi-document ACID transactions
  is a hard constraint.

## Consequences
✅ Full ACID compliance for transaction integrity
✅ Mature tooling and ORM support across all team languages
❌ Horizontal write scaling requires more planning than document stores

To backfill ADRs for an existing project, ask Claude to read your CLAUDE.md, README, and key config files, then generate records for the decisions already baked in.

Teams that write ADRs make better future decisions — because the painful trade-offs of the past are never forgotten.