Architecture Patterns

Overview

Procedure for evaluating, choosing, and implementing software architecture patterns

Steps

Step 1: Understand requirements and constraints

Gather the context needed for architectural decisions:

1. Document business requirements and drivers
2. Identify quality attribute requirements
3. Understand current state (if evolving existing system)
4. Document constraints (budget, timeline, skills)
5. Identify stakeholders and their concerns
6. Understand scale and growth projections

Step 2: Identify candidate architectures

Identify architectural patterns that could work:

1. Review common patterns (monolith, microservices, etc.)
2. Consider hybrid approaches
3. Research how similar problems are solved
4. Consider team experience and preferences
5. Document 2-4 viable candidates

Step 3: Evaluate candidates against requirements

Systematically evaluate each candidate:

1. Score each candidate against quality attributes
2. Evaluate against team capability
3. Assess operational requirements
4. Consider total cost of ownership
5. Evaluate flexibility and reversibility
6. Document tradeoffs for each option

Step 4: Select architecture

Make the architectural decision:

1. Review evaluation results
2. Discuss with stakeholders
3. Consider reversibility and evolution
4. Make decision and document rationale
5. Identify risks and mitigation strategies
6. Get stakeholder buy-in

Step 5: Create Architecture Decision Record

Document the decision formally:

1. Write ADR with context and decision
2. Document alternatives considered
3. Explain consequences and tradeoffs
4. Link to supporting analysis
5. Get formal approval if needed
6. Add to architectural documentation

Step 6: Design component architecture

Design the detailed architecture:

1. Identify main components and their responsibilities
2. Define interfaces between components
3. Design data architecture
4. Plan integration patterns
5. Address cross-cutting concerns
6. Create architecture diagrams

Step 7: Plan implementation roadmap

Create plan to implement the architecture:

1. Identify implementation phases
2. Define key milestones
3. Plan for incremental delivery
4. Identify dependencies and sequences
5. Plan risk mitigation
6. Create timeline

When to Use

• Starting a new project and choosing initial architecture
• Evaluating whether to break apart a monolith
• Scaling challenges require architectural changes
• Adding major new capability to existing system
• Technical debt is causing architectural problems
• Team debating architectural approaches
• Documenting architectural decisions (ADRs)
• Reviewing and evolving existing architecture

Verification

• Architecture addresses key quality requirements
• Decision is documented with rationale
• Tradeoffs are explicitly acknowledged
• Team has skills to implement
• Plan is realistic given constraints
• Stakeholders are aligned
• Architecture can evolve over time

Input: $ARGUMENTS

Apply this procedure to the input provided.