4D Decision Records (4DDR)
4D Decision Records (4DDR) extend traditional Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) to capture decisions across all four phases of the GISE methodology: Discover, Design, Develop, and Deploy.
Overview
Traditional ADRs focus primarily on architectural decisions made during the design phase. 4DDRs broaden this scope to include any decision that impacts constraints, processes, or outcomes across the entire software development lifecycle.
| Aspect | Traditional ADR | 4DDR |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Architectural decisions only | Decisions in all 4 phases |
| Frequency | Dozens per project | One per salient decision in any phase |
| Granularity | "Should we use PostgreSQL?" | "Which user research method?", "Which lint rules?", "How do we rollback deployments?" |
| Audience | Architects & senior developers | Whole team, DevOps, Product, QA |
| Lifespan | Mostly static | Mutable—revisited when invalidated by later phases |
Key Benefits
🧠 Shared Mental Model
Decisions made in the Discover phase inform later phases without tribal knowledge loss.
🤖 LLM-Ready Context
Each 4DDR is a single, prompt-friendly JSON/Markdown blob—perfect for feeding back into Blueprint-Plan-Execute workflows.
📋 Compliance & Audit
Clear decision traces for ISO 27001, SOC 2, medical, and financial compliance requirements.
⚡ Accelerated Onboarding
New team members can quickly understand the "why" behind current system constraints.
📊 Methodology Health Metrics
Track stale or conflicting 4DDRs to identify where GISE processes need refinement.
Getting Started
- What is 4DDR? - Deep dive into the 4DDR concept
- 4DDR vs ADR - Comparison with traditional approaches
- Lifecycle Management - Status transitions and maintenance
- Storage Strategies - Git, database, and hybrid approaches
Quick Links
- 4DDR Templates - Ready-to-use templates
- 4DDR Examples - Real-world examples
- Implementation Recipes - Common patterns and best practices
Integration with GISE
4DDRs integrate seamlessly with GISE's Blueprint-Plan-Execute (BPE) methodology:
- Blueprint: LLM drafts high-level options and provisional 4DDR templates
- Plan: Plans include checkboxes to finalize and merge 4DDRs
- Execute: Execution agents read accepted 4DDRs to respect constraints
This creates a feedback loop where every generation-execution cycle stays anchored to explicit, version-controlled decisions.