# Design a practical software architecture

Architecture decisions can become unclear when requirements, team skills, and future growth compete. This skill compares suitable patterns and helps document a clear, reasoned decision.

## Install

```bash
npx skillstore add cloudai-x/designing-architecture
```

## Metadata

- Status: approved
- Slug: cloudai-x-designing-architecture
- Skillstore revision: r2
- Version status: missing
- Tree hash: d58257b0f5af9ee6c5e1aef9d171673a6722ef644a53f46dcf7fe17799373922
- Author: CloudAI-X
- GitHub username: CloudAI-X
- License: MIT
- Repository: https://github.com/CloudAI-X/claude-workflow/tree/main/skills/designing-architecture
- Ref: c68df504887c54bf71d2d467a1fbebde49467868
- Supported tools: Claude, Codex, Claude Code
- Audit status: complete
- Agent install advisory: allowed
- Manual install advisory: allowed
- Artifact signature: available
- Audit attestation: unavailable
- Human verification: not\_verified
- Risk factors: external\_commands
- Quality score: 78
- Quality tier: bronze
- Public page: https://skillstore.pages.dev/skills/cloudai-x-designing-architecture
- Manifest: https://skillstore.pages.dev/api/skills/cloudai-x-designing-architecture/manifest

## Capabilities

- Matches layered, clean, hexagonal, event-driven, and CQRS patterns to common project needs.
- Uses project and team size as inputs for initial architecture recommendations.
- Provides feature-based and layer-based directory structure examples.
- Guides trade-off analysis across complexity, scalability, and team familiarity.
- Supplies validation criteria for module boundaries, dependencies, testing, and growth.

## Use Cases

- Plan a new product foundation: Compare a modular monolith with other patterns before a small product team begins implementation.
- Document an architecture decision: Record options, trade-offs, and consequences for a system change in a consistent format.
- Choose a project structure: Select a feature-based or layer-based directory layout that fits a growing application.

## Prompt Templates

### Choose a simple starting pattern

```
I am building a small CRUD web application with three developers. Recommend an architecture pattern and explain why.
```

### Compare two approaches

```
Compare a modular monolith and microservices for an e-commerce platform with a team of eight developers. Include trade-offs.
```

### Create a decision record

```
Create an architecture decision record for choosing clean architecture in a long-lived billing service. Include context, options, trade-offs, decision, and consequences.
```

### Validate a proposed design

```
Evaluate this proposed event-driven architecture against team skills, testing needs, module boundaries, scalability, and operational complexity: [describe the system].
```

## Limitations

- Does not inspect an existing codebase or measure its operational requirements.
- Does not produce implementation code, deployment configurations, or cost estimates.
- Recommendations are general guidance and require validation against product constraints.
- Does not replace review by experienced engineers and stakeholders.

## Best Practices

- Start with the simplest design that meets current requirements.
- Document assumptions, alternatives, and consequences with every major decision.
- Validate the proposed design with developers who will build and maintain it.

## Anti Patterns

- Choosing microservices only because they are popular.
- Copying an architecture without considering team skills and operational capacity.
- Treating an architecture decision as permanent when requirements change.

## Security Audit

- Audited at: 2026-07-18T10:54:53.79\+00:00
- Summary: All 19 static findings are false positives. The analyzer interpreted Markdown code fences in SKILL.md as shell backticks, but the file contains only architecture guidance, diagrams, checklists, and a documentation template. No executable commands, prompt injection, secret handling, or data-exfiltration intent was found.

## Stats

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- Downloads: 10
- Favorites: 0
- Popularity score: 0