Help me think through this architecture decision.
The choice:
{{describe the decision — build vs buy, framework A vs B, monolith vs microservice, etc.}}
My situation:
- Team size: {{count + roughly experience level}}
- Current stack: {{what we run today}}
- Time horizon: {{ship in 2 weeks vs maintain for 5 years}}
- Scale we'll hit: {{realistic numbers, not aspirational}}
- Constraints I can't change: {{compliance, existing contracts, hiring market, etc.}}
Output:
1. **The actual question** — restate what I'm deciding, since I might have framed it wrong
2. **Option A** — pros, cons, hidden costs (operational, hiring, lock-in)
3. **Option B** — same
4. **The third option I might be missing** — often there's a middle path or a "do nothing" worth considering
5. **What I should know in 6 months that would make either choice obviously right** — and how to learn it cheaply nowarchitecturedecisionstradeoffs