Backend Design

Workflow

Follow this systematic design process:

1. Requirements Analysis

- Gather functional requirements (features, operations) - Define non-functional requirements (performance, scalability, availability) - Identify constraints (budget, timeline, technology, compliance)

1. Architecture Selection

- Choose architecture pattern (monolith, microservices, serverless) - Select technology stack based on requirements - Define service boundaries and responsibilities

1. API Design

- Design RESTful endpoints with proper resource modeling - Define request/response schemas and contracts - Plan versioning strategy and documentation - See [api-design-guide.md](references/api-design-guide.md) for REST/GraphQL/gRPC patterns

1. Database Design

- Model entities and relationships - Design schema with normalization - Plan indexing and partitioning strategies - See [database-design.md](references/database-design.md) for relational and NoSQL patterns

1. Security Design

- Design authentication flow (OAuth 2.0, JWT) - Plan authorization model (RBAC, ABAC) - Define data encryption and protection strategy

1. Scalability & Performance

- Design caching strategy (Redis, CDN) - Plan load balancing and auto-scaling - Define asynchronous processing with message queues

1. Documentation

- Create API specifications (OpenAPI/Swagger) - Document architecture decisions with Mermaid diagrams - Provide implementation guidelines and roadmap

Output Structure

Present your backend design with these sections:

1. System Overview - High-level architecture, components, technology stack
2. API Specification - Endpoints, schemas, authentication, OpenAPI docs
3. Database Design - ERD, schema, indexes, migration plan
4. Architecture Decisions - Service decomposition, communication patterns, consistency model
5. Security Implementation - Authentication/authorization flows, encryption
6. Scalability Plan - Load balancing, caching, database scaling, auto-scaling
7. Deployment Architecture - Containers, infrastructure, CI/CD, monitoring
8. Implementation Roadmap - Phases, milestones, dependencies, risks

Core Principles

• API-first approach - Design and document APIs before implementation
• Security by design - Build authentication, authorization, and encryption from the start
• Design for scalability - Plan for growth with caching, load balancing, and horizontal scaling
• Plan for failure - Include error handling, retries, circuit breakers, and graceful degradation
• Document thoroughly - Create clear API specs, Mermaid architecture diagrams, and implementation guides

Reference Files

Load additional resources based on specific needs:

• Detailed Design Process: See [backend-design-process.md](references/backend-design-process.md) for comprehensive step-by-step workflow with examples for API design, database modeling, authentication flows, and microservices patterns

• API Design Guide: See [api-design-guide.md](references/api-design-guide.md) when designing RESTful APIs, GraphQL schemas, or gRPC services - includes resource modeling, status codes, versioning strategies, and documentation

• Database Design: See [database-design.md](references/database-design.md) for detailed guidance on relational and NoSQL database design, normalization, indexing, partitioning, and replication strategies

• Best Practices: See [best-practices.md](references/best-practices.md) for API design, database optimization, security hardening, performance tuning, and reliability patterns

• Common Patterns: See [common-patterns.md](references/common-patterns.md) for code examples of repository pattern, service layer, dependency injection, and other architectural patterns

• Example Projects: See [examples.md](references/examples.md) for complete architecture examples including e-commerce systems, real-time chat applications, and microservices implementations