Architecture Quantum Analyzer

An architecture quantum (or "independently deployable unit") is an independently deployable artifact with high functional cohesion and synchronous connascence. The quantum count determines whether a system should use a monolith or distributed architecture — because different quanta need different quality attributes, and a single monolith can only optimize for one set.

When to Use

You're deciding whether a system should be one deployable unit or many, or you're analyzing the deployment boundaries of an existing system. Typical situations:

• "Should this be a monolith or microservices?" — quantum analysis provides the answer
• Decomposing a monolith — which parts should separate?
• Performance/scalability issues in one part of a system while other parts are fine
• Different teams need to deploy independently
• Pre-requisite for architecture-style-selector — quantum count informs style choice

Before starting, verify:

• Do you know the system's architecture characteristics? If not, use architecture-characteristics-identifier first
• Is there a codebase to analyze, or is this a greenfield design?

Context