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type: adr id: adr-0067 status: accepted created: 2026-06-11 updated: 2026-06-11

ADR-0067 — Memory: findings first, the heavier machinery as an advanced model

Context

Lost context is a top adopter pain, but a multi-tier memory system with promotion protocols is ceremony ahead of need for most teams (R-003). What survives sessions must be cheap to write and easy to recall. Writing intermediate state to durable files measurably helps multi-step work, and is the recommended pattern for work that spans sessions [CTXENG] [SCRATCHPAD].

Decision

1. Core = findings/ + one Close-step rule: before closing a task, record anything durable as a finding (template frozen here; shipped at starter-kit/templates/finding.md): frontmatter type: finding, id: FINDING-*, status: candidate|accepted|stale, from, date, related[]; sections What we learned / Evidence / Where it applies / Where it does not apply / Future guidance. The status board lists findings pending acceptance.
2. The status board (template frozen here; templates/status.md): a hand-edited type: status workboard — one row per spec/task/review/finding with state and link, plus a Human-attention list (blocking questions · tasks missing review packets · findings pending acceptance). One honest rule (checklist level): a "verified" claim on the board links its review packet. The machine-derived per-spec coverage read-model is a future-CLI output, not this file.
3. The advanced memory model — load-when index, glossary, patterns-from-corroborated-findings, the promotion statuses, and the append-only ledger — lives on one reference page (docs/reference/memory.md) for teams that outgrow the core, with its research basis carried along.

Alternatives considered

Alternative	Why weaker
Ship the full memory system in the kit	The reports identify exactly this as framework-becomes-the-work
Findings only, drop the advanced model	Larger teams hit recall limits the index/patterns model already solves

Consequences

Positive: saving a lesson costs one short file. Negative: recall is grep/board-driven until a team adopts the advanced index. Neutral: the ledger concept survives as reference, not requirement.

Status

Accepted. Refines ADR-0032.

Propagation

Templates (finding, status), docs/09, reference/memory.md, kit shell, evals (Close rubric).