Architectural Patterns Review Skill

Overview

Architectural patterns define large-scale structure: how major components communicate, dependency direction, and where responsibilities live. Unlike GoF patterns (class level), these operate at module, service, and system level. Review asks: "Are boundaries intact? Are dependencies flowing correctly? Is this component doing work that belongs elsewhere?"

When to Use

• PR adds a new layer dependency or import
• Evaluating whether a new service/module belongs where the author placed it
• Diagnosing why a codebase is hard to test despite "clean" individual classes
• Assessing whether stated architecture matches actual code

Quick Reference