ADR-014: Attribution-First Development

Status: Proposed Date: August 17, 2025 Decision Makers: PM, Chief Architect, Chief of Staff

Context

Piper Morgan’s development has benefited from numerous external sources: frameworks, research papers, open-source patterns, and community knowledge. As we formalize our Agent Charter and operational principles, we recognize that intellectual integrity requires systematic attribution of these influences.

Recent discoveries include:

Without systematic attribution, we risk:

Decision

We will adopt an Attribution-First Development methodology where acknowledging sources is as fundamental as writing tests or documentation.

Core Components

  1. CITATIONS.md Maintenance
    • Living document in docs/governance/
    • Structured format with categories (Frameworks, Research, Code Patterns, Tools)
    • Version controlled with semantic versioning
    • Regular audits for completeness
  2. Pattern → Citation Mapping 
    # Example: When implementing CoD optimization
# Citation: Chain-of-Draft (arXiv:2502.18600v1)
def compress_reasoning(prompt: str) -> str:
    """Compress reasoning to 5-word expressions per CoD methodology"""
    ...
  3. Attribution Workflow Integration
    • Pre-commit hooks check for unattributed patterns
    • PR template includes “New Influences” section
    • Weekly Pattern Sweep includes citation discovery
    • Monthly attribution audit against codebase
  4. Attribution Debt Tracking
    • Treat missing attributions like technical debt
    • Create GitHub issues for attribution gaps
    • Track metrics: attributed vs. unattributed patterns
    • Regular debt reduction sprints
  5. Operational Tooling ```yaml

    .pre-commit-config.yaml

    • id: attribution-check name: Verify Attribution entry: scripts/validation/citation_checker.py files: .(py|md)$ ```

Attribution Standards

Required Attribution:

Attribution Format:

Not Required (but encouraged):

Consequences

Positive

  1. Ethical Leadership: Sets industry standard for AI development integrity
  2. Community Building: Creates goodwill and collaboration opportunities
  3. Knowledge Lineage: Clear tracking of intellectual heritage
  4. Legal Protection: Reduces risk of plagiarism claims
  5. Learning Acceleration: The Attribution Flywheel: 
    Discover → Attribute → Share → Community Learns →
→ They Share Back → We Discover More

Negative

  1. Development Overhead: ~5-10 minutes per PR for attribution review [Confidence: Medium - Estimated based on similar review processes, needs measurement]
  2. Initial Debt: Need to retrofit existing code with attributions
  3. Tooling Investment: Time to build attribution infrastructure
  4. False Positives: Attribution checker may flag common patterns

Neutral

  1. Cultural Shift: Team must internalize attribution as core practice
  2. Process Evolution: Workflows will adapt around attribution needs
  3. External Visibility: Our attribution practices become public

Implementation Plan

Phase 1: Foundation (Week 1)

Phase 2: Automation (Week 2)

Phase 3: Enforcement (Week 3)

Phase 4: Maturity (Month 2+)

Alternatives Considered

Alternative 1: Ad-hoc Attribution

Description: Attribute on case-by-case basis without system Rejected Because: Inconsistent, easily forgotten under pressure

Description: Only attribute where legally required Rejected Because: Misses opportunity for community building and ethical leadership

Alternative 3: Post-hoc Attribution

Description: Add attributions during quarterly reviews Rejected Because: Attribution debt accumulates, context lost

References and Influences

Notes

This ADR itself demonstrates attribution-first development by explicitly crediting all influences on our attribution methodology. The recursive nature (attributing our attribution approach) exemplifies the principle.

The 5-10 minute overhead per PR is estimated based on:

Success metrics: