docs(arch): tighten door-type framing — reversal cost, not deferral
ADR-009, open-questions.md, and the architect agent spec all had the same conflation: 'two-way door' was phrased as 'can be decided during implementation,' which reads as 'defer the decision.' That's not what it means. A two-way door is a decision you make now and can revert later if wrong — it's about reversal cost, not urgency. ADR-009: add §'What this framework is NOT' — explicitly separates door type (reversal cost) from deferral (scope management). State that architecture decisions are the architect's regardless of door type. Reword the two-way-door process from 'can be decided during implementation' to 'pick the simplest option that works, implement it, revert if needed.' open-questions.md: reword the header to clarify door type describes reversal cost, not urgency. Add 'Door type is separate from whether a decision is made.' architect.md: add Key Principle #8 (decisions are made, not deferred), a new 'Door Types and Decision Urgency' section, and two new anti-patterns (#8: door type as deferral, #9: hedging language in resolved decisions).
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@@ -241,9 +241,49 @@ last_updated: 2026-05-29
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5. **WHAT not HOW**: Specs describe components and interfaces. ADRs explain
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5. **WHAT not HOW**: Specs describe components and interfaces. ADRs explain
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why. Neither describes code-level implementation.
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why. Neither describes code-level implementation.
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6. **No historical artifacts**: Specs describe what IS, not what WAS. Changelogs
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6. **No historical artifacts**: Specs describe what IS, not what WAS. Changelogs
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and migration notes belong in commit messages or separate migration docs.
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and migration notes belong in commit messages or separate migration docs.
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7. **Lifecycle states**: Every doc has a status. Draft → reviewed → stable →
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7. **Lifecycle states**: Every doc has a status. Draft → reviewed → stable →
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deprecated. Stale `draft` docs are a sign of unfinished work.
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deprecated. Stale `draft` docs are a sign of unfinished work.
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8. **Decisions are made, not deferred**: An open question that has a clear
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answer is resolved, not left "open" with hedging language like "v1 default"
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or "can be revisited later." If the decision is made, mark it resolved. If
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the decision genuinely can't be made yet (the use case isn't concrete,
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the options aren't clear), leave it open — but say *why* it can't be made,
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not "we'll decide later." The architect's job is to make architecture
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decisions, not to defer them to the implementation agent.
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## Door Types and Decision Urgency
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ADR-009 classifies decisions by **reversal cost** (one-way vs two-way), not by
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urgency. This distinction is important:
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- **One-way door**: Getting it wrong is expensive (rewrites across crates,
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permanently closed capabilities). Requires an ADR before implementation.
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Gets the deliberation it deserves.
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- **Two-way door**: Getting it wrong is recoverable (cheap revert, additive
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change). Still requires a decision — pick the simplest option that works,
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implement it, revert if needed. The decision is made; what's cheap is the
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reversal, not the decision.
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**Door type ≠ deferral.** A two-way door is not a license to leave a decision
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unmade. Using "it's a two-way door" as a reason to defer an architectural
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decision is the specific anti-pattern this framework was tightened to prevent
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(see ADR-009 §"What this framework is NOT"). The decision compounds — downstream
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code builds on whatever the implementation picked by default, making the "cheap
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reversal" expensive.
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**Architecture decisions are the architect's, regardless of door type.** The
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implementation agent makes implementation decisions (variable names, loop
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order, which library to use for a concrete task). If a decision affects the
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system's structure, constraints, or API surface, it's an architecture decision
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— even if it's a two-way door. A two-way architecture decision is still made by
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the architect; it just doesn't need a POC or extensive deliberation first.
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**Deferral is separate.** Sometimes a decision genuinely doesn't need to be
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made yet because the use case isn't concrete (scope management). That's a valid
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scoping judgment, but it's a different concept from door type, and it should be
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stated explicitly as "not needed for the current scope" rather than "two-way
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door, decide later."
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## Anti-Patterns to Avoid
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## Anti-Patterns to Avoid
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@@ -258,6 +298,17 @@ last_updated: 2026-05-29
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6. **Missing ADR for a visible choice**: If a reader would ask "why X over Y?",
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6. **Missing ADR for a visible choice**: If a reader would ask "why X over Y?",
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write an ADR
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write an ADR
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7. **No README index**: Without the index table, ADRs and docs are unfindable
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7. **No README index**: Without the index table, ADRs and docs are unfindable
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8. **Door type as deferral**: Using "two-way door" as a reason to leave an
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architectural decision unmade. Door type classifies reversal cost, not
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urgency. A two-way door is a decision you make now and can revert later —
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not a decision to defer. If the decision is made, mark the OQ resolved. If
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it genuinely can't be made yet, say why (scope, missing information), not
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"we'll decide later."
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9. **Hedging language in resolved decisions**: Phrases like "v1 default",
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"phase_n", "when x arrives", "can be revisited" on decisions that are
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actually made. If the decision is made, state it cleanly. Reserve temporal
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language for decisions that are genuinely deferred by scope — and even
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then, say "not needed for the current scope" rather than "v1."
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## When to Redirect
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## When to Redirect
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@@ -16,23 +16,31 @@ Without an explicit framework, one-way doors can be treated as casually as two-w
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### Classification
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### Classification
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Every architectural decision is classified as one of:
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Every architectural decision is classified by **reversal cost** — how expensive it is to undo if you got it wrong:
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**One-way door** — Reversing this decision requires rewriting significant code across multiple crates or permanently closes a capability door. Examples:
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**One-way door** — Reversing this decision requires rewriting significant code across multiple crates or permanently closes a capability door. Getting it wrong is expensive. Examples:
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- BiStream as a concrete quinn type (closes WASM door permanently)
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- BiStream as a concrete quinn type (closes WASM door permanently)
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- alknet-vault pulled into alknet-core as a dependency (loses standalone property permanently)
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- alknet-vault pulled into alknet-core as a dependency (loses standalone property permanently)
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- ProtocolHandler signature changes (every handler must be rewritten)
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- ProtocolHandler signature changes (every handler must be rewritten)
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**Two-way door** — Reversing this decision is cheap or additive. Examples:
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**Two-way door** — Reversing this decision is cheap or additive. Getting it wrong is recoverable. Examples:
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- Static vs dynamic handler registration (can add ArcSwap later)
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- Static vs dynamic handler registration (can add ArcSwap later)
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- Single transport vs multi-transport endpoint (can add transport trait later)
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- Single transport vs multi-transport endpoint (can add transport trait later)
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- Call protocol stream model (can add multiplexing later)
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- Call protocol stream model (can add multiplexing later)
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### Process
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### Process
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- **One-way doors** require an ADR before implementation. If the right choice is unclear, validate with a POC before writing the ADR. If a POC can't resolve the uncertainty within a reasonable timebox, default to the option that keeps more doors open.
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- **One-way doors** require an ADR before implementation. If the right choice is unclear, validate with a POC before writing the ADR. If a POC can't resolve the uncertainty within a reasonable timebox, default to the option that keeps more doors open. One-way doors get the deliberation they deserve because getting them wrong is expensive.
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- **Two-way doors** can be decided during implementation. Start with the simplest option and add complexity when needed. Note the decision in a commit message or a brief ADR if the context is worth capturing, but don't block on it.
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- **Two-way doors** still require a decision — pick the simplest option that works, implement it, and move on. If it turns out wrong, revert and try the alternative. The decision is made; what's cheap is the reversal. Note the decision in a commit message or a brief ADR if the context is worth capturing, but don't block on it.
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- When in doubt, classify up. If it's unclear whether a door is one-way or two-way, treat it as one-way until proven otherwise.
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- When in doubt about which classification applies, classify up. If it's unclear whether a door is one-way or two-way, treat it as one-way until proven otherwise.
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### What this framework is NOT
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This framework classifies decisions by **reversal cost**, not by **urgency**. It does not say "two-way doors can be deferred." A two-way door is a decision you make now and can revert later if needed — it's not a license to leave the decision unmade.
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- **Deferral** is a separate concept: sometimes a decision genuinely doesn't need to be made yet because the use case isn't concrete (scope management). That's valid, but it's a scoping judgment, not a door-type classification.
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- **Conflating the two** — using "it's a two-way door" as a reason to defer an architectural decision — leads to decisions that compound into a mess. The decision gets made by default (the implementation picks something), and downstream code builds on it, making the "cheap reversal" expensive.
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- **The architect's role**: architecture decisions (one-way OR two-way) are for the architect to make, not the implementation agent. The implementation agent makes implementation decisions (variable names, loop order, which library to use for a parsed task). If a decision affects the system's structure, constraints, or API surface, it's an architecture decision regardless of its door type.
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### WASM as a design constraint
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### WASM as a design constraint
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@@ -46,10 +54,10 @@ This is not "WASM support now." It's "don't close the WASM door accidentally."
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## Consequences
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## Consequences
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**Positive:**
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**Positive:**
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- One-way doors get the deliberation they deserve — ADRs, POCs, explicit justification
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- One-way doors get the deliberation they deserve — ADRs, POCs, explicit justification — because getting them wrong is expensive
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- Two-way doors don't block progress — start simple, add complexity when needed
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- Two-way doors don't block progress — decide, implement, revert if needed — because getting them wrong is recoverable
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- WASM compatibility is preserved as a constraint, not treated as an active deliverable
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- WASM compatibility is preserved as a constraint, not treated as an active deliverable
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- The framework creates a shared vocabulary for discussing decision urgency ("is this a one-way door?")
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- The framework creates a shared vocabulary for discussing reversal cost ("is this a one-way door?")
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**Negative:**
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**Negative:**
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- Classification requires judgment — some decisions are genuinely ambiguous (mitigated: classify up when in doubt)
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- Classification requires judgment — some decisions are genuinely ambiguous (mitigated: classify up when in doubt)
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@@ -7,9 +7,11 @@ last_updated: 2026-06-27
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Questions are organized by theme. Each question has a stable OQ-ID for cross-referencing from spec documents.
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Questions are organized by theme. Each question has a stable OQ-ID for cross-referencing from spec documents.
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Door type classifications follow ADR-009:
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Door type classifications follow ADR-009 — they describe **reversal cost** (how expensive it is to undo), not urgency:
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- **One-way door**: Reversal requires rewriting significant code or permanently closes a capability. Requires ADR before implementation.
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- **One-way door**: Reversal requires rewriting significant code or permanently closes a capability. Getting it wrong is expensive — requires ADR before implementation.
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- **Two-way door**: Reversal is cheap or additive. Can be decided during implementation.
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- **Two-way door**: Reversal is cheap or additive. Getting it wrong is recoverable — decide, implement, revert if needed.
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Door type is separate from whether a decision is made. A two-way door is a decision you make now and can revert later, not a decision to defer. See ADR-009 §"What this framework is NOT."
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## Theme: Core Types
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## Theme: Core Types
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