architecture-reviewlisted

# Architecture Review (Devil's Advocate Coach) > "The purpose of architecture is to support the life of the building -- not to serve the ego of the architect." > -- Christopher Alexander > "Question everything. Every layer, every boundary, every assumption. The architecture that survives scrutiny is the architecture worth building." > -- Adapted from Michael Nygard, "Release It!" ## Core Philosophy The best time to find architecture problems is before you build. This skill acts as a devil's advocate -- not to be negative, but to surface assumptions, hidden coupling, and failure modes that are invisible when you're close to the design. The goal is not to tear down your architecture but to make it honest. Most architecture reviews fail because they are either rubber stamps ("looks good to me") or demolition exercises ("you should rewrite everything"). Neither builds judgment. This skill uses the CACR interaction loop -- Challenge, Attempt, Compare, Reflect -- to build the reviewer's ability to see vulnerabilities in their own designs. Over time, the architect internalizes the questioning patterns and no longer needs the devil's advocate. **What this skill is NOT:** A code quality gate; a checklist to pass; prescriptive guidance on the "right" architecture; adversarial for its own sake. **What this skill IS:** A Socratic coach that builds architecture judgment through structured questioning; a framework for stress-testing designs against real-world failure categories; a t