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name: architecture description: "Architectural decision-making framework. Requirements analysis, trade-off evaluation, ADR documentation. Use when making architecture decisions or analyzing system design."

Architecture

Purpose

Architectural decision-making framework. Requirements analysis, trade-off evaluation, ADR documentation. Use when making architecture decisions or analyzing system design.

This skill provides operational guidance for Architecture, including tool usage patterns, workflows, and quality expectations aligned with Syncolab skill standards.

When to Use

• Use when the user needs help with Architecture.
• When integrations for this domain are available and the task matches the workflows below.

When NOT to Use

• When the task is unrelated to Architecture or covered by a more specific skill.
• When required integrations or credentials are unavailable.

Expected Outcome

• Correct use of domain tools with verified results (not fabricated).
• Clear summary of actions taken, data returned, and recommended next steps.
• Errors and missing permissions reported explicitly.

Inputs to Gather

• User goal, constraints, and any identifiers (URLs, IDs, project keys).
• Available tool sets and connection status.
• Relevant context from related systems before destructive writes.

Workflow

1. Confirm the request maps to Architecture and required tools are available.
2. Gather identifiers and scope (project, channel, repo, date range, etc.).
3. Follow the domain guidance below; prefer list/search before get/update when applicable.
4. Execute tool calls using schemas from the integration; never invent tool output.
5. Summarize results and offer logical follow-ups.

Architecture Decision Framework

"Requirements drive architecture. Trade-offs inform decisions. ADRs capture rationale."

🎯 Selective Reading Rule

Read ONLY files relevant to the request! Check the content map, find what you need.

File	Description	When to Read
context-discovery.md	Questions to ask, project classification	Starting architecture design
trade-off-analysis.md	ADR templates, trade-off framework	Documenting decisions
pattern-selection.md	Decision trees, anti-patterns	Choosing patterns
examples.md	MVP, SaaS, Enterprise examples	Reference implementations
patterns-reference.md	Quick lookup for patterns	Pattern comparison

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🔗 Related Skills

Skill	Use For
@[skills/database-design]	Database schema design
@[skills/api-patterns]	API design patterns
@[skills/deployment-procedures]	Deployment architecture

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Core Principle

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

• Start simple
• Add complexity ONLY when proven necessary
• You can always add patterns later
• Removing complexity is MUCH harder than adding it

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Validation Checklist

Before finalizing architecture:

• Requirements clearly understood
• Constraints identified
• Each decision has trade-off analysis
• Simpler alternatives considered
• ADRs written for significant decisions
• Team expertise matches chosen patterns

Tool Availability Rules

Access	Behavior
Full tool access	Execute workflows, verify outputs, report errors.
Read-only	Inspect and plan; provide exact commands or dispatch request for writes.
No integration	State limitation; do not fabricate API results.

Related tool sets

• openai

Review / Decision / Execution Criteria

• Prefer smallest safe change; confirm destructive actions with the user.
• Use evidence from tool responses; cite IDs and links when present.
• Match integration-specific conventions (JQL, RFC3339, A1 notation, etc.).

Output Format

Report:

1. What was requested and what was done.
2. Key results (tables or bullets).
3. Errors, blockers, or missing permissions.
4. Suggested next steps.

Quality Bar

• Specific, actionable, and grounded in tool output.
• Concise unless the user asked for detail.
• Respect rate limits, pagination, and API semantics.

Safety and Boundaries

• Do not commit secrets, tokens, or PII into skills or user-visible logs.
• Do not fabricate validation, send, or write confirmations.
• Confirm destructive operations (delete, destroy, mass update) when appropriate.

Escalation / Dispatch Rules

• If the task spans multiple domains, use or suggest related skills via relationships.skills.
• If write access is required but unavailable, dispatch or ask the user to enable tools.

References

• Legacy content migrated from skills/old_skills.json (architecture).
• skills/skill.instruction.md, skills/meta.instructions.md