architecture-design

Architecture Design

Purpose

This skill transforms an approved project definition and roadmap into a stable system architecture.

It defines the long-term organization of the system before engineering design and implementation begin.

The resulting architecture becomes the foundation for engineering decisions and implementation planning.

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Lifecycle Stage

Project Discovery
        ↓
Roadmap Creation
        ↓
Architecture Design
        ↓
Engineering Design

Architecture Design defines how the system is organized.

Engineering Design later defines how that architecture will be implemented.

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Role

Primary role:

Architecture Agent

This skill may also be executed by another reasoning-capable agent when acting in the Architecture Agent role.

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When to Use

Use this skill when:

• PROJECT.md has been approved;
• ROADMAP.md has been approved;
• the initial architecture must be created;
• a roadmap phase introduces new architectural capabilities;
• architectural boundaries need to evolve.

Do not use this skill for:

• project discovery;
• engineering decisions;
• repository initialization;
• implementation planning;
• production code.

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Inputs

Required:

• PROJECT.md
• ROADMAP.md

Optional:

• existing ARCHITECTURE.md
• existing ADRs

The project vision and roadmap should already be stable.

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Outputs

Produce:

• ARCHITECTURE.md
• ADRs (when required)

The architecture should provide sufficient structure for Engineering Design without introducing implementation details.

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Procedure

Step 1 — Understand the Project

Review:

• project goals;
• roadmap phases;
• constraints;
• target users;
• expected capabilities.

Architecture must support the approved project direction.

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Step 2 — Design the System

Define:

• major components;
• responsibilities;
• ownership boundaries;
• dependency rules;
• integration points.

Focus on stable system organization rather than implementation.

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