Maps project constraints (budget, team size, timeline, ops maturity, compliance) to architecture decisions
Constraint Solver Skill
Maps project constraints (budget, team size, timeline, ops maturity, compliance) to architecture decisions. Used by /architect:blueprint-variants and /architect:recommend-stack to generate informed options.
When to Use
Invoke this skill to:
Understand constraint implications — what does $2k/mo budget mean for tech choices?
Find feasible options — which architectures fit these constraints?
Identify constraint conflicts — can we really do enterprise-ready in 4 weeks with 1 engineer?
Suggest trade-offs — to hit budget, what do we sacrifice (speed, scale, compliance)?
Input
Provide 5 constraint dimensions:
{"budget_monthly":5000,// dollars/month"team_size":3,// engineers"timeline_weeks":8,// weeks to launch"ops_maturity":"startup",
// startup | growing | mature
"compliance_required"
:
[
"GDPR"
]
,
// [] | HIPAA | SOC2 | GDPR | FedRAMP | etc.
"target_users"
:
10000
,
// expected DAU at launch
"latency_requirement_ms"
:
500
// p99 latency target (optional)
}
Output
A feasibility analysis object:
{"constraints":{ ... },"feasibility":{"overall_score":0.85,// 0-1.0: can achieve these constraints?"critical_constraints":[// hard limits"budget_monthly: $5000 limits database choice (max PostgreSQL + Redis)"],"flexible_constraints":[// trade-off opportunities"timeline_weeks: 8 is tight but achievable with baseline tech stack"]},"implied_architecture":{"deployment":"managed (Vercel, Railway)","database":"PostgreSQL managed (Render, Neon, AWS RDS)","cache":"Redis managed (Upstash)","monitoring":"basic (Datadog free, CloudWatch)"},"option_variants":[{"name":"baseline","matches_constraints":true,"fit_score":0.92,"cost":4200,"timeline_weeks":8,"ops_burden_hrs_per_week":4},{"name":"cost-optimized","matches_constraints":true,"fit_score":0.78,"cost":2100,"timeline_weeks":6,"ops_burden_hrs_per_week":8,"trade_offs":["higher latency (2s vs 300ms)","less predictable costs","more manual devops"]}],"constraint_conflicts":[{"constraints":["ops_maturity: startup","compliance_required: HIPAA"],"conflict":"HIPAA requires enterprise ops (logging, audit trails, multi-region); startup ops maturity can't support this","resolution":"hire compliance/ops expert OR relax to SOC 2 instead"}],"recommendations":["Budget is your primary constraint. Baseline at $4.2k/mo fits.","Team of 3 can execute in 8 weeks with standard tech stack.","No compliance constraints = simplifies architecture significantly.","Choose Baseline option."]}
4 weeks → no time for learning. Use familiar tech only.
8 weeks → baseline timeline for standard stack. Acceptable learning curve.
12 weeks → can onboard new tools, patterns. More experimental stack OK.
16+ weeks → time for complex setup (Kubernetes, multi-region, enterprise hardening).
Constraint mapping:
Timeline → learning budget (do you have time to learn new tool?)
Timeline → risk tolerance (proven stack safer than cutting-edge)
Timeline → team ramp (need experienced architects for tight timelines)
4. Ops Maturity (team's operational capability)
Levels:
Startup (Level 1): No ops experience, need fully managed services
Growing (Level 2): Can manage some self-hosted, familiar with containers
Mature (Level 3): Run Kubernetes in production, multi-region failover, custom dashboards
Implications:
Startup: Vercel, Railway, managed databases. Zero self-hosted complexity.
Growing: Some self-hosted (Postgres on own server), but with backups/monitoring.
Mature: Kubernetes, custom infra, complex observability.
Constraint mapping:
Ops maturity → deployment tool choice (Vercel vs. Kubernetes vs. Lambda)
Ops maturity → monitoring depth (free tier vs. enterprise APM)
Some constraints conflict and can't be satisfied together:
Conflict: Cheap + Compliant
Constraints: budget_monthly: 2000, compliance_required: HIPAA
Problem: HIPAA requires multi-region, 99.99% uptime, 24/7 monitoring
→ Costs minimum $15k/mo, but budget is $2k/mo
Resolution:
Option A: Increase budget to $15k+/mo
Option B: Relax compliance to SOC 2 instead (~$5k/mo)
Option C: Launch without compliance, add later when revenue comes
Conflict: Fast Timeline + Complex Ops Maturity
Constraints: timeline_weeks: 4, ops_maturity: startup
Problem: Startup ops can only use managed services (simple). Takes 4 weeks just to learn tooling.
Resolution:
Option A: Extend timeline to 8 weeks
Option B: Hire experienced ops person (2-week lead time)
Option C: Use even simpler stack (just Vercel + Firebase)
Conflict: Small Team + Enterprise Complexity
Constraints: team_size: 1, compliance_required: HIPAA, timeline_weeks: 8
Problem: 1 engineer can't implement, test, AND audit for HIPAA. Need 3-4 people.
Resolution:
Option A: Hire additional team members
Option B: Outsource compliance audit ($5k)
Option C: Launch without HIPAA, add compliance after MVP
Feasibility Scoring
Calculate 0-1.0 feasibility score for constraint set:
feasibility = 0.0
// Can we actually afford this?
if budget >= calculated_cost:
feasibility += 0.3
elif budget >= calculated_cost * 0.8: // close enough
feasibility += 0.2
else:
flag: "BUDGET INFEASIBLE: need ${amount} more/month"
// Is team large enough?
if team_size >= required_team_size:
feasibility += 0.2
elif team_size >= required_team_size - 1: // close
feasibility += 0.1
else:
flag: "TEAM UNDERSIZED: need ${count} more engineers"
// Is timeline achievable?
if timeline_weeks >= required_weeks:
feasibility += 0.2
elif timeline_weeks >= required_weeks * 0.8:
feasibility += 0.1
else:
flag: "TIMELINE INFEASIBLE: need ${weeks} more weeks"
// Can ops maturity handle this?
if ops_maturity_level >= required_level:
feasibility += 0.15
elif ops_maturity_level >= required_level - 1:
feasibility += 0.075
else:
flag: "OPS MATURITY INSUFFICIENT: hire or use managed services"
// Are compliance requirements supported?
if compliance_frameworks <= team_expertise:
feasibility += 0.15
else:
flag: "COMPLIANCE EXPERTISE LACKING: hire compliance lead"
return min(feasibility, 1.0)
Interpretation:
0.9-1.0: All green, achievable with current constraints
0.7-0.9: Feasible with one minor adjustment (e.g., extend timeline by 2 weeks)
0.5-0.7: Possible but tight; identify which constraint to relax
<0.5: Not feasible as-is; need to change multiple constraints
Option Variant Scoring
For each variant (baseline, cost-optimized, etc.), score fit to constraints:
1. Load or ask for constraints
2. Call constraint-solver(constraints)
3. If feasibility < 0.7:
- Show conflicts and suggested changes
- Ask user to adjust constraint
- Recalculate
4. If feasibility >= 0.7:
- Generate all variants
- Score each against constraints
- Rank by fit_score
- Recommend highest-scoring variant
In /architect:recommend-stack
1. Load constraints
2. For each possible tech stack:
- Calculate cost, complexity, ops burden
- Score fit to constraints
3. Return top 3 stacks ranked by fit_score
4. Show trade-offs of switching stacks
In /architect:cost-estimate
1. Load constraints (especially budget, timeline)
2. Estimate costs based on constraint targets
3. If estimated cost > budget:
- Suggest cost-optimized variant
- Show what gets cut (latency, scale, features)