msd-core/sdk/prompts/templates/research-project/ARCHITECTURE.md

Architecture Research Template

Template for .planning/research/ARCHITECTURE.md — system structure patterns for the project domain.

# Architecture Research

**Domain:** [domain type]
**Researched:** [date]
**Confidence:** [HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW]

## Standard Architecture

### System Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ [Layer Name] │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │ │ │ [Comp] │ │ [Comp] │ │ [Comp] │ │ [Comp] │ │ │ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├───────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴──────────────┤ │ [Layer Name] │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ [Component] │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ [Layer Name] │ │ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │ │ │ [Store] │ │ [Store] │ │ [Store] │ │ │ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

### Component Responsibilities

| Component | Responsibility | Typical Implementation |
|-----------|----------------|------------------------|
| [name] | [what it owns] | [how it's usually built] |
| [name] | [what it owns] | [how it's usually built] |
| [name] | [what it owns] | [how it's usually built] |

## Recommended Project Structure

src/ ├── [folder]/ # [purpose] │ ├── [subfolder]/ # [purpose] │ └── [file].ts # [purpose] ├── [folder]/ # [purpose] │ ├── [subfolder]/ # [purpose] │ └── [file].ts # [purpose] ├── [folder]/ # [purpose] └── [folder]/ # [purpose]

### Structure Rationale

- **[folder]/:** [why organized this way]
- **[folder]/:** [why organized this way]

## Architectural Patterns

### Pattern 1: [Pattern Name]

**What:** [description]
**When to use:** [conditions]
**Trade-offs:** [pros and cons]

**Example:**
```typescript
// [Brief code example showing the pattern]

Pattern 2: [Pattern Name]

What: [description] When to use: [conditions] Trade-offs: [pros and cons]

Example:

// [Brief code example showing the pattern]

Pattern 3: [Pattern Name]

What: [description] When to use: [conditions] Trade-offs: [pros and cons]

Data Flow

Request Flow

[User Action]
    ↓
[Component] → [Handler] → [Service] → [Data Store]
    ↓              ↓           ↓            ↓
[Response] ← [Transform] ← [Query] ← [Database]

State Management

[State Store]
    ↓ (subscribe)
[Components] ←→ [Actions] → [Reducers/Mutations] → [State Store]

Key Data Flows

1. [Flow name]: [description of how data moves]
2. [Flow name]: [description of how data moves]

Scaling Considerations

Scale	Architecture Adjustments
0-1k users	[approach — usually monolith is fine]
1k-100k users	[approach — what to optimize first]
100k+ users	[approach — when to consider splitting]

Scaling Priorities

1. First bottleneck: [what breaks first, how to fix]
2. Second bottleneck: [what breaks next, how to fix]

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern 1: [Name]

What people do: [the mistake] Why it's wrong: [the problem it causes] Do this instead: [the correct approach]

Anti-Pattern 2: [Name]

What people do: [the mistake] Why it's wrong: [the problem it causes] Do this instead: [the correct approach]

Integration Points

External Services

Service	Integration Pattern	Notes
[service]	[how to connect]	[gotchas]
[service]	[how to connect]	[gotchas]

Internal Boundaries

Boundary	Communication	Notes
[module A ↔ module B]	[API/events/direct]	[considerations]

Sources

• [Architecture references]
• [Official documentation]
• [Case studies]

---

Architecture research for: [domain] Researched: [date]

</template>

<guidelines>

**System Overview:**
- Use ASCII box-drawing diagrams for clarity (├── └── │ ─ for structure visualization only)
- Show major components and their relationships
- Don't over-detail — this is conceptual, not implementation

**Project Structure:**
- Be specific about folder organization
- Explain the rationale for grouping
- Match conventions of the chosen stack

**Patterns:**
- Include code examples where helpful
- Explain trade-offs honestly
- Note when patterns are overkill for small projects

**Scaling Considerations:**
- Be realistic — most projects don't need to scale to millions
- Focus on "what breaks first" not theoretical limits
- Avoid premature optimization recommendations

**Anti-Patterns:**
- Specific to this domain
- Include what to do instead
- Helps prevent common mistakes during implementation

</guidelines>