Software Solution Architecture

Use this skill when the question starts from a business workflow, operating model, system landscape, or transition problem rather than from a single service or deployable boundary.

This skill chooses the solution shape first. It does not default to runtime patterns such as modular monolith vs microservices, CQRS, service mesh, or MCP/A2A until the business flow, participating systems, and transition shape are already clear.

Start here for:

• target architecture across multiple systems or domains
• business journeys that cross product, integration, data, and operational boundaries
• solution options and tradeoffs before deeper runtime design
• system-of-record, ownership, and trust-boundary mapping across the landscape
• phased migration or coexistence design with interim and final states
• regulated or enterprise contexts where the main problem is stitching systems together coherently

Use ../software-architecture-design/SKILL.md after the solution shape is known and the next question is service decomposition, distributed consistency, platform engineering, or runtime topology.

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