Technical Planning

Plan architecture and document decisions. Default to creating ADRs for significant decisions.

Architectural Focus

1. System impact - What existing systems does this touch?
2. Boundaries - Where does this feature start and end?
3. Integration - How does it connect to existing components?
4. Data flow - How does information move through the system?
5. Trade-offs - What are we gaining and giving up?

ADRs

Create an ADR when choosing between technologies, selecting authentication approaches, introducing new patterns, or making trade-offs with long-term implications.

ADR Format

# ADR-{NNN}: {Decision Title}

**Status**: Proposed | Accepted | Rejected | Superseded
**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD

## Context

[Why is this decision needed?]

## Decision

[Clear statement of what was decided]

## Alternatives Considered

### {Alternative 1}
- **Pros**: ...
- **Cons**: ...
- **Why rejected**: ...

## Consequences

### Positive
- [Benefit]

### Negative
- [Trade-off]
- **Mitigation**: [How handled]

Scan docs/adr/ for existing ADRs and increment the highest number.

Technical Overview

Location: specs/YYYY-MM-DD-feature-name/technical-details.md

Structure

# Technical Overview: {Feature Name}

## Summary
[2-3 sentences]

## Architecture

### System Context
[How this fits into the broader system]

### Component Boundaries
[Components involved and responsibilities]

### Data Flow
[How data moves through the system]

## Integration Points
- **{System A}**: [How it integrates]

## Decisions
| Decision | ADR |
|----------|-----|
| [Choice] | [ADR-NNN](../docs/adr/NNNN-title.md) |

## Security Considerations
[Auth, authorization, data protection]

## Risks and Constraints
- **{Risk}**: [Description and mitigation]

## Open Questions
- [Unresolved questions]

Exclusions

Do not include: specific file paths, implementation order, code snippets, line-by-line details, time estimates, or timeline references.

Guidelines

Confirm feasibility before designing. Document decisions as ADRs. Trust implementers with the how. Think in systems and ripple effects. Address security by default.

Templates

• templates/technical-details.md - Technical overview
• templates/adr-template.md - ADR template
• references/adr-guide.md - ADR guidelines