Document Types Overview

ArchDoc supports four types of technical documents, each serving a specific purpose in your engineering and product workflow.

Document Types

Quick Comparison

Document Categories

All documents in ArchDoc have one of three categories:

In Progress

• Document is being drafted
• Still accepting edits
• Sign-offs pending

Accepted

• Document has been approved
• Sign-offs complete
• Ready for implementation

Closed

• Document is no longer active
• Could be superseded or rejected
• Preserved for historical reference

Choosing the Right Type

Use this decision tree:

Is this primarily a product / requirements artifact?
├── Yes → PRD
└── No
    └── Is this a single architectural choice?
        ├── Yes → ADR
        └── No
            ├── Are you proposing a change for team discussion?
            │   ├── Yes → RFC
            │   └── No
            │       └── Is this a detailed technical design?
            │           ├── Yes → Design Doc
            │           └── No → Consider ADR

Common Workflows

ADR Workflow

1. Identify a decision to be made
2. Create an ADR documenting options
3. Choose an option and document reasoning
4. (Optional) Request sign-offs
5. Mark as Accepted

RFC Workflow

1. Identify a change or improvement
2. Create RFC with proposal details
3. Share with team for feedback
4. Iterate based on comments
5. Request sign-offs
6. Mark as Accepted or Closed

Design Doc Workflow

1. Plan a significant feature
2. Create Design Doc with full details
3. Include diagrams and technical specs
4. Request sign-offs from stakeholders
5. Mark as Accepted
6. Reference during implementation

PRD Workflow

1. Identify a product opportunity or user problem
2. Create a PRD describing problem, users, requirements, and success metrics
3. Share with engineering, design, and leadership for feedback
4. Link related Design Docs and RFCs as they are written
5. Request sign-offs from stakeholders
6. Mark as Accepted and use as the source of truth during build

Getting Started

• Create your first document
• Learn about editing
• Understand sign-offs