Design RESTful APIs — endpoints, request/response schemas, error codes, versioning. Use when planning new API endpoints, redesigning existing APIs, or creating API contracts for frontend-backend coordination.
Estimate infrastructure cost for a feature or system — compute, storage, bandwidth, managed services. Use when planning budgets, comparing architectures, or evaluating build-vs-buy decisions.
Design database schema — tables, relations, indexes, migration strategy. Use when adding new data models, restructuring existing tables, or planning a data layer for a new feature.
Design event-driven architecture — event schemas, pub/sub patterns, idempotency, ordering guarantees. Use when decoupling services, building notification systems, audit trails, or real-time features.
Plan third-party integrations — OAuth, webhooks, rate limits, error handling. Use when integrating with external services like Stripe, Google, Slack, or any API-based service.
Plan data and system migrations — zero-downtime strategy, rollback procedures, validation checks. Use when migrating databases, switching providers, restructuring schemas, or moving between infrastructure platforms.
Review a system for scaling bottlenecks — caching, queues, read replicas, CDN, load balancing. Use when preparing for traffic growth, diagnosing performance issues, or planning infrastructure upgrades.
Design a system from scratch — components, data flow, API contracts, scaling strategy. Use when starting a new product, service, or major feature that needs architectural planning before implementation.