# ADR 2026 05 17

**File:** ADR-2026-05-17.md\
**Author:** Nicolette Martine Langendam — NikiDigitals\
**Location:** LES-Master/docs/decisions/\
**Decisions covered:** ADR-000067 through ADR-000082\
**Session type:** LES-SETUP — Research Stack Configuration & Week 1 Planning

***

## Context

This file records all decisions made on 17 May 2026 during the LES-SETUP session that established the full research stack and locked the Week 1 study plan. Decisions in this file cover four areas: the Obsidian knowledge management system, the Zotero reference management system, the Week 1 and Q1 study plan, and operational documentation conventions.

***

## Architecture Decisions

### ADR-000067 — Obsidian Adopted as Working Knowledge Layer of LES-KNW — Reverses ADR-000029

**Decision:** Obsidian is adopted as the working knowledge layer of the LES-KNW module. This decision reverses ADR-000029 (No additional note-taking tools at this stage).

**Context:** ADR-000029 was made early in the programme to prevent tool proliferation before the core infrastructure was established. By 17 May 2026 the infrastructure was sufficiently stable to introduce a dedicated knowledge management tool. The LES-KNW module — the knowledge base — required a working environment for synthesising research, connecting concepts, and building the literature that underpins the LES architecture and academic publications.

**Rationale:** Obsidian is a local-first, markdown-based knowledge management tool that integrates directly with Zotero through the Zotero Integration plugin. It supports the Zettelkasten methodology — the most rigorous approach to building a connected knowledge base for research and writing. All notes are plain markdown files stored in the vault, committed to Git, and version controlled alongside the rest of the LES project.

**Consequences:** ADR-000029 reversed. Obsidian vault created and configured. Vault committed to LES-KNW repository.

***

### ADR-000068 — AZ-900 Deferred to Q2 — Reversed by ADR-000084

**Decision:** AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals was deferred from Y1Q1 to Y1Q2 to honour the Q1 four-track architecture.

**Status:** **Reversed by ADR-000084 on 18 May 2026.** AZ-900 is confirmed in Y1Q1. This decision is superseded.

***

### ADR-000070 — Obsidian Vault Location Confirmed

**Decision:** The Obsidian vault is located at `C:\Projects\LES\LES-KNW\vault\`

**Context:** The vault location was chosen to keep all LES project files under the `C:\Projects\LES\` parent directory — consistent with the local machine folder structure established for all LES repositories.

**Consequences:** Vault at confirmed location. All new notes created within this vault. Git commits from this directory push to LES-KNW repository.

***

### ADR-000071 — Obsidian Sync — Git Only, Desktop Access

**Decision:** Obsidian vault is synchronised via Git only. Obsidian Sync (the paid cloud service) is not used. Vault is accessible on desktop only — no mobile access.

**Context:** Obsidian Sync costs approximately €8–10 per month and is not necessary given that the vault is primarily a working research environment rather than a reference accessed across devices.

**Rationale:** Git provides sufficient version control and backup for a desktop research environment. The additional cost of Obsidian Sync does not justify the benefit at this stage. Mobile access is not a current requirement.

**Consequences:** Vault synced via Git commits to LES-KNW. No Obsidian Sync subscription. Desktop-only access confirmed.

***

### ADR-000072 — Zettelkasten-Light Hybrid Methodology Adopted

**Decision:** The Obsidian vault uses a Zettelkasten-light hybrid methodology with a seven-folder structure.

**Vault structure:**

```
vault/
├── 00 — Inbox          # Quick captures — unsorted
├── 10 — Literature     # One note per source — interpretation in own words
├── 20 — Permanent      # Atomic notes — one idea per note
├── 30 — MOCs           # Maps of Content — domain hub notes
├── 40 — Projects       # Active LES project working notes
├── 50 — Templates      # Note templates
└── 99 — Archive        # Inactive notes — nothing deleted
```

**Context:** A pure Zettelkasten system (no folders, only links) was considered but rejected as insufficiently structured for a programme that produces academic research alongside a complex build project. The hybrid approach uses folders for broad categorisation while relying on links and tags for the connective layer — combining the navigability of a folder structure with the associative power of the Zettelkasten method.

**Rationale:** Literature Notes (10) and Permanent Notes (20) are the core Zettelkasten layers — one note per source, one idea per note. MOCs (30) provide navigable hub pages for each research domain. Projects (40) keeps active LES working notes separate from permanent knowledge. The Inbox (00) ensures nothing is lost by requiring immediate filing decisions.

**Consequences:** Vault folder structure created and committed. All new notes filed according to this convention.

***

### ADR-000073 — Zotero 9 Adopted as External Source Management Component of LES-KNW

**Decision:** Zotero 9 is adopted as the external source management component of the LES-KNW knowledge module.

**Scope:** Academic papers, institutional reports, books, official standards, and primary source documents that inform LES design decisions and underpin academic publications.

**Configuration:**

| Setting           | Value                                                 |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| Version           | Zotero 9                                              |
| Account           | nikidigitals                                          |
| Browser connector | Chrome — pinned to toolbar                            |
| Sync              | Data + full-text content + attachments via zotero.org |
| PDF storage       | Local machine — synced to zotero.org                  |

**Context:** The research programme requires rigorous source management from the first session. Zotero is the industry-standard academic reference manager — free, open-source, and directly integrated with Obsidian through the Zotero Integration plugin.

**Rationale:** Zotero provides the complete reference management pipeline — capture via browser connector, metadata cleaning, PDF annotation, citation key generation via Better BibTeX, and export to Obsidian Literature Notes. No alternative was evaluated — Zotero is the clear choice for academic research management at this level.

**Consequences:** Zotero 9 installed, account created, Chrome Connector pinned, sync configured. First source added — Cadbury Report (1992).

***

### ADR-000074 — Cite Them Right 12th Edition (Author-Date / Harvard) Adopted as Citation Standard

**Decision:** Cite Them Right 12th edition, author-date variant (Harvard), is the citation standard for all academic outputs in the LES programme.

**Context:** The programme produces academic articles targeting peer-reviewed journals, a UoL research project, and GitBook academic entries. A consistent citation standard must be established from the first source and applied without deviation.

**Rationale:** Cite Them Right is the standard citation guide used by the Open University and widely accepted in UK academic and professional contexts. The author-date (Harvard) variant is the most widely used format in business, finance, and information systems research — the primary disciplines of the LES academic programme.

**Consequences:** Citation style set in Zotero to Cite Them Right 12th edition. All Obsidian Literature Notes use this format in the Bibliographic Reference field. All article drafts and GitBook academic entries cite accordingly.

***

### ADR-000075 — Zotero Collections Structured by LES Research Domain

**Decision:** Zotero collections are organised by LES research domain, not by study curriculum (not by ACCA paper, not by OU module, not by certification).

**Context:** An alternative structure organised by study curriculum was considered — one collection per ACCA paper, one per OU module. This was rejected because a source may be relevant to multiple domains and multiple study tracks simultaneously.

**Rationale:** Research domains reflect the intellectual architecture of the project, not the bureaucratic structure of the study schedule. A paper on corporate governance is relevant to LES-FIN, to ACCA BT and LW, and to the research programme — filing it by research domain (Corporate Governance & Compliance) makes it findable regardless of which track triggered the discovery. The dual-filing principle handles sources that serve multiple purposes simultaneously.

**Consequences:** All collections structured by domain. Curriculum-based filing rejected. Dual-filing principle adopted for cross-domain sources.

***

### ADR-000076 — Formal Education Collection Added — OU and ACCA Sub-Collections, Dual-Filing Principle

**Decision:** A Formal Education top-level collection is added to the Zotero library with sub-collections for OU modules and ACCA papers. Sources that serve both formal education and a research domain are dual-filed in both collections simultaneously.

**Dual-filing principle:** A source filed in a formal education sub-collection is also filed in the relevant domain collection. Ctrl+drag adds an item to a second collection without creating a duplicate — the same item object appears in multiple collections.

**Context:** The Formal Education collection ensures that sources assigned for study programmes are traceable within Zotero, while domain collections ensure they remain findable by intellectual content rather than curriculum assignment.

**First application:** Cadbury Report (1992) — filed in `01 — Corporate Governance & Compliance` and in `ACCA — BT Business & Technology` simultaneously.

**Consequences:** Formal Education collection created with OU and ACCA sub-collections. Dual-filing principle applied from first source. All future sources dual-filed where applicable.

***

### ADR-000077 — Obsidian Plugin Suite Confirmed

**Decision:** Three community plugins are installed in the Obsidian vault: Zotero Integration, Templater, and Dataview.

| Plugin             | Author             | Role                                                                       |
| ------------------ | ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Zotero Integration | obsidian-community | Pulls citation data from Zotero and creates Literature Notes automatically |
| Templater          | SilentVoid13       | Advanced note templates with dynamic fields                                |
| Dataview           | Michael Brenan     | Queries the vault as a database — lists notes by tag, date, or metadata    |

**Context:** These three plugins provide the core functionality required for the research pipeline: source import (Zotero Integration), structured note creation (Templater), and knowledge retrieval (Dataview). No additional plugins were installed — complexity in the tool environment is kept minimal.

**Consequences:** All three plugins installed and configured. Template folder pointed to `50 — Templates`. Zotero Integration output path set to `10 — Literature/{{citekey}}.md`.

***

### ADR-000078 — Better BibTeX Adopted as Citation Key Engine

**Decision:** Better BibTeX for Zotero is installed as the citation key generation engine. Citation key formula: `[auth][year]`.

**Examples:**

* Zachman (1987) → `Zachman1987`
* Chen, Law & Yang (2009) → `Chen2009`
* Committee on Corporate Governance (1992) → `Committee1992`

**Context:** Zotero Integration requires citation keys to name Literature Notes and link references between Obsidian and Zotero. Better BibTeX generates stable, predictable citation keys automatically using a configurable formula.

**Rationale:** The `[auth][year]` formula produces short, memorable, collision-resistant keys in the format used by most academic citation systems. Keys are stable — they do not change if the Zotero library is reorganised.

**Consequences:** Better BibTeX installed and enabled. Citation key formula set. All existing and future Zotero records assigned keys automatically.

***

### ADR-000079 — AZ-900 Open Session Paused — Reversed by ADR-000084

**Decision:** The LES-LEARN-AZ900 session was paused pending Q2.

**Status:** **Reversed by ADR-000084 on 18 May 2026.** AZ-900 is confirmed in Y1Q1 and the session is reopened. This decision is superseded.

***

### ADR-000080 — They Say / I Say and How to Write a Lot Deferred — Substitute Adopted

**Decision:** The two academic writing books originally assigned to Track 4 in Week 1 (*They Say / I Say* by Graff & Birkenstein and *How to Write a Lot* by Paul Silvia) are deferred. The substitute for Week 1 Track 4 is Stanford Writing in the Sciences Module 1.

**Context:** Both books were assigned to the Research & Academic Voice track for Week 1. On review, the Week 1 load was already substantial across four tracks. Stanford Writing in the Sciences Module 1 provides an accessible, structured introduction to academic writing without requiring physical book acquisition.

**Rationale:** The deferral reduces Week 1 load without abandoning the Research & Academic Voice track. Both books remain in scope for acquisition and study in Week 2 onward.

**Consequences:** Week 1 Track 4 uses Stanford Writing in the Sciences Module 1 only. Books to be acquired Week 2.

***

## Operational Decisions

### ADR-000069 — Week 1 Plan Adopted

**Decision:** The Week 1 study plan for 18–24 May 2026 is adopted as the first active study week of the LES programme.

**Weekly structure:**

| Category                            | Hours  |
| ----------------------------------- | ------ |
| Total capacity                      | 55 hrs |
| Formal education + FP\&A externship | 20 hrs |
| LES self-directed                   | 35 hrs |
| Q1 self-directed specification      | 26 hrs |

**Four tracks:**

| Track | Subject                                                  | Weekly hours                 |
| ----- | -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| 1     | Mathematics — Khan Academy → MIT Mathematics for CS      | 10 hrs                       |
| 2     | Computer Science — *Code* → OSTEP → Codd → Chen          | 8 hrs                        |
| 3     | ACCA BT — BPP Study Text + OpenTuition                   | 8 hrs (within formal 20 hrs) |
| 4     | Research & Academic Voice — Zotero + Obsidian + Stanford | 4 hrs                        |

**Week 1 daily plan:**

| Day    | Track 1                | Alternating                        | Output                  |
| ------ | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------- | ----------------------- |
| Mon 18 | Pre-Algebra M1–2       | CS — *Code* Ch.1–2                 | Daily log               |
| Tue 19 | Pre-Algebra M3–4       | Research — Cadbury Literature Note | Daily log               |
| Wed 20 | Pre-Algebra M5–6       | CS — *Code* Ch.3–4                 | Daily log               |
| Thu 21 | Pre-Algebra M7–8       | Research — Stanford Module 1       | Daily log               |
| Fri 22 | Pre-Algebra M9–10      | CS — *Code* Ch.5–6                 | Daily log               |
| Sat 23 | Unit checkpoint        | Research — Obsidian consolidation  | Weekly journal          |
| Sun 24 | Review + consolidation | —                                  | Journal + ADR + commits |

**Consequences:** Week 1 plan locked. First active study day: Monday 18 May 2026.

***

### ADR-000081 — Three-File Update Rule Established

**Decision:** The master context, completed tasks log, and decisions index are always updated together as a single operation. No file is updated in isolation.

**The three files:**

* `LES-MASTER-CONTEXT.md` — current state reference
* `LES-TASKS-COMPLETED.md` — permanent completed task log
* `LES-DECISIONS-INDEX.md` — full decision log

**Context:** Early in the programme, the three files were updated independently — leading to inconsistencies where the master context referenced completed tasks not yet logged, or decisions not yet indexed. The three-file rule formalises what should have been the practice from the start.

**Rationale:** The three files form a single coherent picture of the programme state. Any of them updated in isolation creates drift — the very documentation debt the system is designed to prevent.

**Consequences:** All future session closes update all three files in the same commit. Single commit message covers all three updates.

***

### ADR-000082 — Week Close Automation Established

**Decision:** The phrase "finalise week" in LES-MENTOR triggers a standardised week-close ritual and automatically produces the Week N+1 opening message.

**The ritual:**

1. Report all completed tasks
2. Update all three companion files together (ADR-000081)
3. Write ADR file for any outstanding days
4. Write weekly journal entry — `LES-JOUR-000[NNN]`
5. Decide whether journal entry is published to GitBook
6. Commit everything
7. Produce the Week N+1 LES-MENTOR opening message

**The Week N+1 opening message contains:**

* Full LES-MASTER-CONTEXT.md — ready to paste into the new session
* Week summary — what was completed
* Opening priorities for the new week
* References to updated companion files and latest GitBook content published

**Rationale:** Without a formalised close ritual, weeks end inconsistently — some tasks documented, others not; some decisions indexed, others lost. The ritual ensures every week closes cleanly and every new week opens with a complete, current context.

**Consequences:** "Finalise week" is the trigger phrase. The ritual is non-negotiable. The Week N+1 opening message is produced automatically at the close of every week.

***

*ADR-2026-05-17.md — 16 decisions recorded (ADR-000067 through ADR-000082)*\
\&#xNAN;*Author: Nicolette Martine Langendam — NikiDigitals*\
\&#xNAN;*Location: LES-Master/docs/decisions/*


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://nikidigitals.gitbook.io/les/03-architecture/decision-log/phase-0-foundation/adr-2026-05-17.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.