Entry point:
/faion-net— invoke this skill for automatic routing to the appropriate domain.
Software Architect Skill
Communication: User's language. Docs: English.
Purpose
Make informed architecture decisions balancing quality attributes (scalability, performance, security, maintainability) with business constraints (time, cost, team skills).
Context Discovery
Auto-Investigation
Detect existing architecture from project:
| Signal | How to Check | What It Tells Us |
|---|---|---|
| ADRs | Glob("**/adr/*.md") or Glob("**/docs/decisions/*") | Architecture decisions documented |
| C4 diagrams | Glob("**/*.dsl") or Grep("C4_", "**/*.puml") | Architecture visualized |
| constitution.md | Glob("**/.aidocs/constitution.md") | Tech stack defined |
| docker-compose | Glob("**/docker-compose*.yml") | Service architecture |
| k8s manifests | Glob("**/k8s/**/*.yaml") | Kubernetes deployment |
| Multiple services | Glob("**/services/*/") | Microservices structure |
| Single app | Glob("**/src/") + no services | Monolith structure |
Read existing architecture:
- constitution.md for tech decisions
- Any existing ADRs
- docker-compose for service dependencies
- README for architecture overview
Discovery Questions
Q1: Architecture Goal
question: "What architecture decision do you need help with?"
header: "Goal"
multiSelect: false
options:
- label: "Design new system architecture"
description: "Starting from scratch or major redesign"
- label: "Choose technology (database, framework, cloud)"
description: "Technology selection decision"
- label: "Document existing architecture"
description: "Create ADRs, diagrams, docs"
- label: "Evaluate/improve current architecture"
description: "Review for issues, plan improvements"
- label: "Migrate or refactor"
description: "Move to new patterns or technologies"
Q2: Scale & Team Context
question: "What's your scale and team context?"
header: "Context"
multiSelect: false
options:
- label: "Solo/small team, MVP/early stage"
description: "Speed matters, keep it simple"
- label: "Growing team (5-15), scaling product"
description: "Need modularity, some structure"
- label: "Large team (15+), multiple teams"
description: "Independent deployment, team boundaries"
- label: "Enterprise, compliance requirements"
description: "Security, audit, formal processes"
Recommendation:
- "Solo/MVP" → Monolith, simple tech stack
- "Growing" → Modular monolith, prepare for split
- "Large team" → Microservices, clear boundaries
- "Enterprise" → Formal architecture, ADRs, compliance
Q3: Quality Priorities (multiSelect)
question: "What are your top quality priorities?"
header: "Priorities"
multiSelect: true
options:
- label: "Scalability (handle growth)"
description: "10x, 100x load handling"
- label: "Performance (low latency)"
description: "Fast response times"
- label: "Availability (uptime)"
description: "99.9%+ availability"
- label: "Security (protect data)"
description: "Compliance, threat protection"
- label: "Maintainability (easy changes)"
description: "Developer productivity"
- label: "Cost efficiency"
description: "Minimize infrastructure spend"
Q4: Constraints
question: "What constraints do you have?"
header: "Constraints"
multiSelect: true
options:
- label: "Limited budget"
description: "Must minimize cloud costs"
- label: "Small team / solo"
description: "Can't manage complexity"
- label: "Existing tech stack"
description: "Must work with current systems"
- label: "Compliance (HIPAA, SOC2, GDPR)"
description: "Regulatory requirements"
- label: "No major constraints"
description: "Flexibility to choose"
Quick Decision Reference
| If you need... | Use | File |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture style for small team/MVP | Monolith or Modular Monolith | monolith-architecture.md, modular-monolith.md |
| Architecture style for large team | Microservices | microservices-architecture.md |
| Database for relational data | PostgreSQL/MySQL | database-selection.md |
| Database for documents | MongoDB/DynamoDB | database-selection.md |
| Database for cache | Redis | caching-architecture.md |
| API for external devs | REST + OpenAPI | patterns.md |
| API for internal | gRPC | patterns.md |
| Communication async | Kafka/RabbitMQ | event-driven-architecture.md |
| Pattern for distributed transactions | Saga | distributed-patterns.md |
| Pattern for resilience | Circuit Breaker | distributed-patterns.md |
Methodologies (30)
Fundamentals (5): system-design-process | c4-model | architecture-decision-records | quality-attributes-analysis | trade-off-analysis
Styles (5): monolith-architecture | microservices-architecture | modular-monolith | serverless-architecture | event-driven-architecture
Patterns (5): creational-patterns | structural-patterns | behavioral-patterns | architectural-patterns | distributed-patterns
Data (4): data-modeling | database-selection | caching-architecture | data-pipeline-design
Infrastructure (4): cloud-architecture | container-orchestration | api-gateway-design | service-mesh
Quality (4): security-architecture | performance-architecture | reliability-architecture | observability-architecture
Templates (3): adr-template | quality-attributes | workflows
Quality Attributes
Scalability: Handle 10x load? | Performance: p95 < 200ms? | Availability: 99.9%+ uptime? | Security: Threat model done? | Maintainability: Deploy daily?
Framework: quality-attributes.md | Analysis: quality-attributes-analysis.md
C4 Model
| Level | Audience | Shows | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| Context (C1) | Business | External systems, users | c4-model.md |
| Container (C2) | Architects | Apps, databases, services | c4-model.md |
| Component (C3) | Developers | Internal components | c4-model.md |
ADR Template
# ADR-NNN: Title
## Status: Proposed/Accepted
## Context: Why needed?
## Decision: What we decided
## Consequences: Trade-offs
## Alternatives: Other options
Full template: adr-template.md
Workflows
System Design: Requirements → Scale estimation → High-level design → Components → Quality attributes → Documentation
Technology Selection: Define criteria → Research → Evaluate → Decide → Document ADR
Full workflows: workflows.md
faion-software-architect v1.2 30 Methodologies