Framework release notes / upgrade summary model introduced

• Date: 2026-05-25
• Lifecycle impact: MINOR
• Adopter action level: Recommended
• Applicability: Universal

What changed

• Added a dedicated lightweight model for framework release notes and upgrade summaries: ../framework-release-notes-and-upgrade-summaries.md.
• Added a reusable summary packet template: ../framework-change-summary-template.md.
• Added a durable quick-scan index: ../framework-release-notes.md.
• Added PR-template prompts for lifecycle impact, adopter action level, applicability, and summary linkage: ../../.github/pull_request_template.md.

Why this matters

Before this change, lifecycle communication rules existed, but there was no single lightweight packet model for maintainers to summarize cross-artifact framework updates or for adopters to triage upgrade impact quickly.

This fills that gap with a durable, low-overhead path that reduces dependency on PR archaeology, chat recall, or implicit maintainer knowledge.

Adopter impact and actions

Required now

• [x] None.

Recommended next

• [ ] Start upgrade reviews from ../framework-release-notes.md instead of scanning raw PR history.
• [ ] For each new summary, classify local response as adopt, defer, or intentional divergence in one bounded upgrade issue.

Optional / context-specific

• [ ] Repackage summary packets into GitHub Releases if your repository uses release-oriented communication.
• [ ] Add profile-specific or maturity-specific local release views if your adoption context needs filtered summaries.

Triggers for future summaries

Publish a new summary when one or more of the following occurs:

• required operating expectations, template fields, checks, or guardrails change
• deprecation state changes (Active → Deprecated or Deprecated → Removed)
• multi-file framework updates should be consumed as one coherent upgrade packet
• profile/maturity applicability or adopter action level is non-obvious from PR titles alone

Follow-on opportunities

• Optionally automate release-index row generation from PR metadata once usage patterns stabilize.
• Optionally add profile-filtered summary views if adopter volume grows.
• Optionally add bundled "upgrade packs" that group related Recommended summaries into quarterly adoption slices.

Related artifacts

• Source issue(s): N/A (task initiated from durable next-prompt packet)
• Pull request(s): This PR
• ADR(s): N/A
• Validation evidence: markdownlint + framework check scripts (recorded in PR)