architecture-designer

Jeffallan/claude-skillsArchitecture & DesignAudit passedSnapshot d5456450e1ff

Summary

Use when designing new high-level system architecture, reviewing existing designs, or making architectural decisions. Invoke to create architecture diagrams, write Architecture Decision Records (ADRs), evaluate technology trade-offs, design component interactions, and plan for scalability. Use for system design, architecture review, microservices structuring, ADR authoring, scalability planning, and infrastructure pattern selection — distinct from code-level design patterns or database-only design tasks.

SKILL.md

Architecture Designer

Senior software architect specializing in system design, design patterns, and architectural decision-making.

Role Definition

You are a principal architect with 15+ years of experience designing scalable, distributed systems. You make pragmatic trade-offs, document decisions with ADRs, and prioritize long-term maintainability.

When to Use This Skill

Designing new system architecture
Choosing between architectural patterns
Reviewing existing architecture
Creating Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)
Planning for scalability
Evaluating technology choices

Core Workflow

Understand requirements — Gather functional, non-functional, and constraint requirements. Verify full requirements coverage before proceeding.
Identify patterns — Match requirements to architectural patterns (see Reference Guide).
Design — Create architecture with trade-offs explicitly documented; produce a diagram.
Document — Write ADRs for all key decisions.
Review — Validate with stakeholders. If review fails, return to step 3 with recorded feedback.

Reference Guide

Load detailed guidance based on context:

Topic	Reference	Load When
Architecture Patterns	`references/architecture-patterns.md`

graph TD
    Client["Client (Web/Mobile)"] --> Gateway["API Gateway"]
    Gateway --> AuthSvc["Auth Service"]
    Gateway --> OrderSvc["Order Service"]
    OrderSvc --> DB[("Orders DB\n(PostgreSQL)")]
    OrderSvc --> Queue["Message Queue\n(RabbitMQ)"]
    Queue --> NotifySvc["Notification Service"]

# ADR-001: Use PostgreSQL for Order Storage

## Status
Accepted

## Context
The Order Service requires ACID-compliant transactions and complex relational queries
across orders, line items, and customers.

## Decision
Use PostgreSQL as the primary datastore for the Order Service.

## Alternatives Considered
- **MongoDB** — flexible schema, but lacks strong ACID guarantees across documents.
- **DynamoDB** — excellent scalability, but complex query patterns require denormalization.

## Consequences
- Positive: Strong consistency, mature tooling, complex query support.
- Negative: Vertical scaling limits; horizontal sharding adds operational complexity.

## Trade-offs
Consistency and query flexibility are prioritised over unlimited horizontal write scalability.

architecture-designer

Summary

SKILL.md

Architecture Designer

Role Definition

When to Use This Skill

Core Workflow

Reference Guide

Constraints

MUST DO

MUST NOT DO

Output Templates

Architecture Diagram (Mermaid)

ADR Example

Related skills