System Design Architect

/============================================================================/ /* SYSTEM-DESIGN-ARCHITECT SKILL :: VERILINGUA x VERIX EDITION / /============================================================================*/

name: system-design-architect version: 1.0.0 description: | [assert|neutral] Comprehensive system design methodology using Dr. Synthara's organism-based approach. Treats systems as living organisms with specialized organs (API, DB, cache, queues), circulation (load balancing), [ground:given] [conf:0.95] [state:confirmed] category: specialists tags:

• system-design
• architecture
• scaling
• infrastructure
• interviews author: Context Cascade (Dr. Synthara methodology) cognitive_frame: primary: compositional goal_analysis: first_order: "Execute system-design-architect workflow" second_order: "Ensure quality and consistency" third_order: "Enable systematic specialists processes"

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /* S0 META-IDENTITY / /----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

[define|neutral] SKILL := { name: "system-design-architect", category: "specialists", version: "1.0.0", layer: L1 } [ground:given] [conf:1.0] [state:confirmed]

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /* S1 COGNITIVE FRAME / /----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

[define|neutral] COGNITIVE_FRAME := { frame: "Compositional", source: "German", force: "Build from primitives?" } [ground:cognitive-science] [conf:0.92] [state:confirmed]

Kanitsal Cerceve (Evidential Frame Activation)

Kaynak dogrulama modu etkin.

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /* S2 TRIGGER CONDITIONS / /----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

[define|neutral] TRIGGER_POSITIVE := { keywords: ["system-design-architect", "specialists", "workflow"], context: "user needs system-design-architect capability" } [ground:given] [conf:1.0] [state:confirmed]

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /* S3 CORE CONTENT / /----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

System Design Architect

Kanitsal Cerceve (Evidential Frame Activation)

Kaynak dogrulama modu etkin.

A comprehensive system design skill using the organism-based mental model: systems are living creatures with organs, circulation, immune systems, and survival mechanisms.

SKILL-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE

When to Use This Skill

• Designing new systems from scratch
• System design interviews (FAANG-level)
• Architecture reviews and evolution planning
• Scaling existing systems (10x, 100x)
• Production readiness assessments
• Identifying and removing SPOFs

When NOT to Use This Skill

• Simple CRUD applications with no scale needs
• Prototypes where architecture doesn't matter yet
• When requirements are completely undefined
• Premature optimization scenarios

Success Criteria

• [assert|neutral] Clear non-negotiable invariants defined [ground:acceptance-criteria] [conf:0.90] [state:provisional]
• [assert|neutral] All SPOFs identified and mitigated [ground:acceptance-criteria] [conf:0.90] [state:provisional]
• [assert|neutral] Decision trees applied for each component choice [ground:acceptance-criteria] [conf:0.90] [state:provisional]
• [assert|neutral] Trade-offs explicitly documented [ground:acceptance-criteria] [conf:0.90] [state:provisional]
• [assert|neutral] 90-second narrative can explain the design [ground:acceptance-criteria] [conf:0.90] [state:provisional]
• [assert|neutral] - [ground:acceptance-criteria] [conf:0.90] [state:provisional]

Phase 0: Pin the Target Before Drawing Boxes

You are designing for constraints, not for tech.

Constraint Extraction Checklist

What I'm Thinking as a Designer

"What are the non-negotiable invariants?"

Examples:

• "No double-charging" (payments)
• "Messages never delivered out of order per conversation" (chat)
• "Inventory can't go negative" (e-commerce)
• "Tokens must be revocable" (auth)

Phase 1: Baseline Single-Server Organism

Start with a simple diagram you can explain in 30 seconds:

Domain -> DNS -> Server IP
Client -> HTTPS -> Server
Server -> Business Logic -> DB -> Response

This sets a clean foundation to EVOLVE from, instead of prematurely microservicing.

Phase 2: First Evolution - Split Tiers

Split into:

• Web/App Tier: Stateless compute (horizontally scalable by default)
• Data Tier: Database + durable storage

Design Rule: The web/app tier should be horizontally scalable BY DEFAULT.

What I'm Thinking: "Where is state living? Where does it need to live?"

If state lives in app memory, scaling breaks it.

Decision Tree 1: Scaling

Need to handle more load?
|
+-- Mostly CPU/RAM bound + small scale + OK if brief downtime?
|   +-- Vertical scale (scale up) as short-term patch
|
+-- Need high availability OR growth beyond one machine?
    +-- Horizontal scale (scale out)
        +-- Add load balancer
        +-- Make app tier stateless
        +-- Move state to shared systems (DB/cache/object storage)

System-Designer Thought: Vertical scaling is a DELAY TACTIC; horizontal scaling is an ARCHITECTURE CHOICE.

Decision Tree 2: Database Choice

What is the data + correctness need?
|
+-- Strong transactions / invariants (money, inventory, ledgers)?
|   +-- SQL (Postgres/MySQL) + ACID + constraints
|
+-- Clear relationships + joins matter?
|   +-- SQL (normalized + indexes)
|
+-- Semi-structured JSON + evolving schema + high scale writes?
|   +-- Document or wide-co

/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
/* S4 SUCCESS CRITERIA                                                         */
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

[define|neutral] SUCCESS_CRITERIA := {
  primary: "Skill execution completes successfully",
  quality: "Output meets quality thresholds",
  verification: "Results validated against requirements"
} [ground:given] [conf:1.0] [state:confirmed]

/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
/* S5 MCP INTEGRATION                                                          */
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

[define|neutral] MCP_INTEGRATION := {
  memory_mcp: "Store execution results and patterns",
  tools: ["mcp__memory-mcp__memory_store", "mcp__memory-mcp__vector_search"]
} [ground:witnessed:mcp-config] [conf:0.95] [state:confirmed]

/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
/* S6 MEMORY NAMESPACE                                                         */
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

[define|neutral] MEMORY_NAMESPACE := {
  pattern: "skills/specialists/system-design-architect/{project}/{timestamp}",
  store: ["executions", "decisions", "patterns"],
  retrieve: ["similar_tasks", "proven_patterns"]
} [ground:system-policy] [conf:1.0] [state:confirmed]

[define|neutral] MEMORY_TAGGING := {
  WHO: "system-design-architect-{session_id}",
  WHEN: "ISO8601_timestamp",
  PROJECT: "{project_name}",
  WHY: "skill-execution"
} [ground:system-policy] [conf:1.0] [state:confirmed]

/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
/* S7 SKILL COMPLETION VERIFICATION                                            */
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

[direct|emphatic] COMPLETION_CHECKLIST := {
  agent_spawning: "Spawn agents via Task()",
  registry_validation: "Use registry agents only",
  todowrite_called: "Track progress with TodoWrite",
  work_delegation: "Delegate to specialized agents"
} [ground:system-policy] [conf:1.0] [state:confirmed]

/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
/* S8 ABSOLUTE RULES                                                           */
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

[direct|emphatic] RULE_NO_UNICODE := forall(output): NOT(unicode_outside_ascii) [ground:windows-compatibility] [conf:1.0] [state:confirmed]

[direct|emphatic] RULE_EVIDENCE := forall(claim): has(ground) AND has(confidence) [ground:verix-spec] [conf:1.0] [state:confirmed]

[direct|emphatic] RULE_REGISTRY := forall(agent): agent IN AGENT_REGISTRY [ground:system-policy] [conf:1.0] [state:confirmed]

/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
/* PROMISE                                                                     */
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

[commit|confident] <promise>SYSTEM_DESIGN_ARCHITECT_VERILINGUA_VERIX_COMPLIANT</promise> [ground:self-validation] [conf:0.99] [state:confirmed]