🎯

designing-architecture

🎯Skill

from cloudai-x/claude-workflow

What it does

Designs software architecture by systematically selecting optimal patterns, structuring projects, and making technical decisions based on project requirements and team capabilities.

📦

Part of

cloudai-x/claude-workflow(8 items)

designing-architecture

Installation

git cloneClone repository

git clone https://github.com/CloudAI-X/claude-workflow.git

📖 Extracted from docs: cloudai-x/claude-workflow

Need more details? View full documentation on GitHub →

10Installs

AddedFeb 4, 2026

View on GitHub Back to Skills

Skill Details

SKILL.md

Designs software architecture and selects appropriate patterns for projects. Use when designing systems, choosing architecture patterns, structuring projects, making technical decisions, or when asked about microservices, monoliths, or architectural approaches.

Overview

# Designing Architecture

Architecture Decision Workflow

Copy this checklist and track progress:

```

Architecture Design Progress:

[ ] Step 1: Understand requirements and constraints
[ ] Step 2: Assess project size and team capabilities
[ ] Step 3: Select architecture pattern
[ ] Step 4: Define directory structure
[ ] Step 5: Document trade-offs and decision
[ ] Step 6: Validate against decision framework

```

Pattern Selection Guide

By Project Size

| Size | Recommended Pattern |

|------|---------------------|

| Small (<10K LOC) | Simple MVC/Layered |

| Medium (10K-100K) | Clean Architecture |

| Large (>100K) | Modular Monolith or Microservices |

By Team Size

| Team | Recommended |

|------|-------------|

| 1-3 devs | Monolith with clear modules |

| 4-10 devs | Modular Monolith |

| 10+ devs | Microservices (if justified) |

Common Patterns

1. Layered Architecture

```

┌─────────────────────────────┐

│ Presentation │ ← UI, API Controllers

├─────────────────────────────┤

│ Application │ ← Use Cases, Services

├─────────────────────────────┤

│ Domain │ ← Business Logic, Entities

├─────────────────────────────┤

│ Infrastructure │ ← Database, External APIs

└─────────────────────────────┘

```

Use when: Simple CRUD apps, small teams, quick prototypes

2. Clean Architecture

```

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐

│ Frameworks & Drivers │

│ ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │

│ │ Interface Adapters │ │

│ │ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ │

│ │ │ Application │ │ │

│ │ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ │

│ │ │ │ Domain │ │ │ │

│ │ │ └─────────────┘ │ │ │

│ │ └─────────────────────┘ │ │

│ └─────────────────────────────┘ │

└─────────────────────────────────────┘

```

Use when: Complex business logic, long-lived projects, testability is key

3. Hexagonal (Ports & Adapters)

```

┌──────────┐

│ HTTP API │

└────┬─────┘

│ Port

┌────────▼────────┐

│ │

│ Application │

│ Core │

│ │

└────────┬────────┘

│ Port

┌────▼─────┐

│ Database │

└──────────┘

```

Use when: Need to swap external dependencies, multiple entry points

4. Event-Driven Architecture

```

Producer → Event Bus → Consumer

│

├─→ Consumer

│

└─→ Consumer

```

Use when: Loose coupling needed, async processing, scalability

5. CQRS (Command Query Responsibility Segregation)

```

┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐

│ Commands │ │ Queries │

│ (Write) │ │ (Read) │

└──────┬──────┘ └──────┬──────┘

│ │

▼ ▼

Write Model Read Model

│ │

└────────┬───────────┘

▼

Event Store

```

Use when: Different read/write scaling, complex domains, event sourcing

Directory Structure Patterns

Feature-Based (Recommended for medium+)

```

src/

├── features/

│ ├── users/

│ │ ├── api/

│ │ ├── components/

│ │ ├── hooks/

│ │ ├── services/

│ │ └── types/

│ └── orders/

│ ├── api/

│ ├── components/

│ └── ...

├── shared/

│ ├── components/

│ ├── hooks/

│ └── utils/

└── app/

└── ...

```

Layer-Based (Simple apps)

```

src/

├── controllers/

├── services/

├── models/

├── repositories/

└── utils/

```

Decision Framework

When making architectural decisions, evaluate against these criteria:

Simplicity - Start simple, evolve when needed
Team Skills - Match architecture to team capabilities
Requirements - Let business needs drive decisions
Scalability - Consider growth trajectory
Maintainability - Optimize for change

Trade-off Analysis Template

Use this template to document architectural decisions:

```markdown

Decision: [What we're deciding]

Context

[Why this decision is needed now]

Options Considered

Option A: [Description]
Option B: [Description]

Trade-offs

| Criteria | Option A | Option B |

|----------|----------|----------|

| Complexity | Low | High |

| Scalability | Medium | High |

| Team familiarity | High | Low |

Decision

We chose [Option] because [reasoning].

Consequences

[What this enables]
[What this constrains]

```

Validation Checklist

After selecting an architecture, validate against:

```

Architecture Validation:

[ ] Matches project size and complexity
[ ] Aligns with team skills and experience
[ ] Supports current requirements
[ ] Allows for anticipated growth
[ ] Dependencies flow inward (core has no external deps)
[ ] Clear boundaries between modules/layers
[ ] Testing strategy is feasible
[ ] Trade-offs are documented

```

If validation fails, reconsider the pattern selection or adjust the implementation approach.

More from this repository7

🎯

convex-backend🎯Skill

Provides comprehensive TypeScript guidelines for building robust Convex backend functions, schemas, queries, and serverless operations with type-safe validation.

🎯

analyzing-projects🎯Skill

Analyzes software project structures, dependencies, and architectural patterns to provide comprehensive insights and recommendations for code organization, potential improvements, and technical deb...

🎯

designing-tests🎯Skill

designing-tests skill from cloudai-x/claude-workflow

🎯

optimizing-performance🎯Skill

Optimizes application performance by profiling, identifying bottlenecks, and applying targeted improvements across frontend, backend, and database layers.

🎯

vercel-react-best-practices🎯Skill

Provides performance optimization guidelines for React and Next.js, offering 45 rules across 8 categories to improve application speed, bundle size, and rendering efficiency.

🎯

web-design-guidelines🎯Skill

Reviews UI code against comprehensive web design guidelines, checking accessibility, UX, and best practices for web interfaces.

🔌

project-starter🔌Plugin

Universal Claude Code workflow with specialized agents, skills, hooks, and output styles for any software project. Includes orchestrator, code-reviewer, debugger, docs-writer, security-auditor, refactorer, and test-architect agents.