Capabilities

System Architecture

Step 9: System Architecture

Documenting the component, proposed technology, rationale, dependencies, and decision status ensures the technical team has a clear plan and helps others understand why specific technologies were chosen. It provides clarity for the engineering team, helps identify technical constraints or dependencies early, and aligns the technical solution with the business goals.

Key Technical Decisions

This section ensures that technical decisions are made deliberately and are aligned with the project's non-functional requirements like scalability and maintainability.

Component

Break down the system into its core components, such as Frontend, Backend, Database, Hosting/Infrastructure, and high-level architectural patterns (e.g., Monolith, Microservices, Serverless). This provides a structured overview of the system's moving parts.

  • Detailed questions for this section will be available soon.

Proposed Technology & Status

For each component, specify the chosen technology, framework, or service (e.g., Frontend: Next.js) and its decision status (e.g., Chosen, Pending, Rejected). This makes it clear which parts of the stack are decided and which are still under discussion.

  • Detailed questions for this section will be available soon.

Rationale

This is the "why" behind the technology choice. Provide a short justification. Is it because the team already has expertise? Does it offer better performance for this specific use case? Does it reduce operational costs? A clear rationale helps avoid "resume-driven development" and ensures choices are strategic, not just based on hype.

  • Detailed questions for this section will be available soon.

Alternative Technologies

Briefly list other options that were considered for a component (e.g., Vue or Svelte for Frontend). Documenting alternatives shows that a thoughtful decision-making process took place and can be useful for future reference if requirements change.

  • Detailed questions for this section will be available soon.

Dependencies & Diagram Reference

List any required external services, APIs, or libraries that the component will depend on (e.g., "Stripe API for payments"). This helps in understanding the full scope of integration work. Additionally, link to a high-level architecture diagram (which can be created in the 'Visual Outputs' module) to provide a visual overview of how all the components fit together.

  • Detailed questions for this section will be available soon.

Technology Comparison

Choosing the right tools is critical. Here is a high-level comparison of common technology choices to help guide your decision-making process.

CategoryTechnologyProsCons
Frontend
UI FrameworkReact (Next.js)
  • Vast ecosystem and community.
  • Excellent for complex, dynamic UIs.
  • Strong performance with Next.js features.
  • Can have a steeper learning curve.
  • Less opinionated, requiring more setup decisions.
UI FrameworkVue (Nuxt.js)
  • Gentle learning curve, great documentation.
  • Progressively adaptable.
  • Good performance and developer experience.
  • Smaller ecosystem than React.
  • Can be too flexible for large teams without discipline.
Backend
PlatformNode.js (Express)
  • Uses JavaScript, allowing full-stack consistency.
  • Excellent for I/O-heavy, real-time applications.
  • Large package ecosystem (NPM).
  • Single-threaded nature can block on CPU-intensive tasks.
  • Callback-heaviness ("callback hell") without modern async patterns.
PlatformPython (Django)
  • "Batteries-included" framework speeds up development.
  • Great for data science and ML integrations.
  • Strong built-in security features and admin panel.
  • Can be slower than other options for raw performance.
  • Monolithic structure can be rigid for some use cases.
Database
TypeSQL (e.g., PostgreSQL)
  • Reliable, ACID-compliant transactions.
  • Excellent for complex queries and relational data.
  • Mature, well-understood technology.
  • Requires a predefined schema, less flexible.
  • Horizontal scaling can be complex and expensive.
TypeNoSQL (e.g., MongoDB, Firestore)
  • Flexible schema is great for rapid development.
  • Built for horizontal scaling and high availability.
  • Good for unstructured or semi-structured data.
  • Complex queries can be difficult or inefficient.
  • Lacks the strict consistency of SQL databases.

Key Artifacts

This module produces documents that make the system's design transparent to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

  • Architecture Diagrams: Visual diagrams (e.g., C4 model, system context, component diagrams) that provide an accessible overview of the technical design and how components interact.
  • Technology Decision Log: A document that records every significant technology choice, the alternatives considered, and the final rationale. This is crucial for future maintainability and onboarding new team members.