architecture

name	architecture
description	Apply software architecture best practices and design patterns. Use when designing systems, refactoring code, making architectural decisions, or reviewing code structure.
type	skill
aidlc_phases	["design","review","validate"]
tags	["architecture","design-patterns","refactoring","system-design"]
requires	[]
author	Melissa Benua
created_at	"2026-03-07T00:00:00.000Z"
updated_at	"2026-03-07T00:00:00.000Z"

Software Architecture

When to Use

• Designing new systems or features
• Making decisions about code organization
• Refactoring existing code
• Reviewing architectural patterns
• Choosing between different approaches

Core Principles

SOLID Principles

Principle	Description	Violation Sign
Single Responsibility	A class should have one reason to change	Class doing too many things
Open/Closed	Open for extension, closed for modification	Frequent edits to existing classes
Liskov Substitution	Subtypes must be substitutable for base types	Checks for specific types in code
Interface Segregation	Many specific interfaces over one general	Clients implementing unused methods
Dependency Inversion	Depend on abstractions, not concretions	Hard-coded dependencies

Separation of Concerns

Organize code into distinct layers:

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│     Presentation Layer      │  UI, API endpoints, CLI
├─────────────────────────────┤
│      Application Layer      │  Use cases, orchestration
├─────────────────────────────┤
│        Domain Layer         │  Business logic, entities
├─────────────────────────────┤
│    Infrastructure Layer     │  Database, external services
└─────────────────────────────┘

Key rules:

• Each layer only depends on layers below it
• Domain layer has no external dependencies
• Infrastructure implements interfaces defined in domain

Design Patterns

Dependency Injection

Prefer constructor injection for required dependencies:

# Good: Dependencies are explicit and testable
class OrderService:
    def __init__(self, repository: OrderRepository, notifier: Notifier):
        self.repository = repository
        self.notifier = notifier

# Bad: Hidden dependencies, hard to test
class OrderService:
    def __init__(self):
        self.repository = PostgresOrderRepository()
        self.notifier = EmailNotifier()

Repository Pattern

Abstract data access behind a clean interface:

class UserRepository(Protocol):
    def get_by_id(self, user_id: str) -> User | None: ...
    def save(self, user: User) -> None: ...
    def find_by_email(self, email: str) -> User | None: ...

Service Layer

Encapsulate business operations:

class UserService:
    def register(self, email: str, password: str) -> User:
        # Validation
        # Business logic
        # Persistence
        # Side effects (email, events)

Architectural Decisions

Monolith vs Microservices

Start with a monolith when:

• Team is small (< 10 developers)
• Domain is not well understood
• Rapid iteration is needed
• Deployment simplicity is important

Consider microservices when:

• Clear bounded contexts exist
• Independent scaling is required
• Different tech stacks needed per service
• Team is large enough to own services

API Design

REST conventions:

• Use nouns for resources: /users, /orders
• Use HTTP methods correctly: GET (read), POST (create), PUT (replace), PATCH (update), DELETE (remove)
• Return appropriate status codes
• Support filtering, pagination, sorting

GraphQL considerations:

• Use for complex, nested data requirements
• When clients need flexibility in queries
• Avoid for simple CRUD operations

Database Design

Normalization:

• Start normalized (3NF) for transactional data
• Denormalize strategically for read performance
• Use views for complex queries

Indexing strategy:

• Index columns used in WHERE, JOIN, ORDER BY
• Consider composite indexes for common query patterns
• Monitor slow queries and add indexes as needed

Caching Strategies

Strategy	Use Case	Invalidation
Cache-aside	Read-heavy, tolerates stale data	TTL or explicit invalidation
Write-through	Consistency important	On write
Write-behind	Write-heavy, eventual consistency	Async batch writes

Cache placement:

• L1: Application memory (fastest, per-instance)
• L2: Distributed cache like Redis (shared, fast)
• L3: CDN (edge, for static/semi-static content)

Event-Driven Architecture

Use events for:

• Decoupling services
• Async processing
• Audit trails
• Notifications

Event patterns:

• Event notification: Something happened, minimal data
• Event-carried state: Include data to avoid callbacks
• Event sourcing: Events as source of truth

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Solution
God class	One class does everything	Split by responsibility
Spaghetti code	Tangled dependencies	Clear layering
Golden hammer	Same solution for everything	Choose appropriate tools
Premature optimization	Optimizing before needed	Measure first
Copy-paste programming	Duplicated code	Extract and reuse

Decision Framework

When facing an architectural decision:

1. Understand requirements: What problem are we solving?
2. List constraints: Time, budget, team skills, scale
3. Identify options: What approaches are viable?
4. Evaluate trade-offs: Pros/cons of each option
5. Document decision: Record the why, not just the what
6. Plan for change: How can we evolve this later?

Additional Resources

For detailed pattern examples, see patterns/ directory.