Web Presentation Pattern Selector

When to Use

Use this skill when designing or refactoring the web layer of a server-side enterprise application. It applies pattern-level decision heuristics from Fowler's Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture — specifically the three view patterns (Template View, Transform View, Two Step View), three controller patterns (Page Controller, Front Controller, Application Controller), and the server-side MVC framework that holds them together.

Typical triggers: new web layer design, fat controller refactor, scriptlet cleanup, adding a wizard flow, framework migration, or a team disagreement about controller structure.

NOT for: selecting persistence or session-state patterns (see Related Skills). For SPA-only frontends, apply this skill to the API backend — the patterns translate cleanly (Front Controller = API router, Transform View = JSON serializer).

Prerequisites: none. Works with codebase or description alone.

Context & Input Gathering

Before selecting patterns, gather the following. Ask if not provided.