Scalable system design
We design the architecture of backend systems that have to grow: how the system is split into services, how data is modeled and moves between them, and what happens when a part fails. For new products, before the first line of code. For existing systems, before the next wave of traffic.
What we do
- Architecture for a new product or platform Service boundaries, data ownership, the APIs between the parts and how the system scales out, written down as decisions your team can review.
- Reviews of systems starting to strain Where the system will break first as load grows, and the smallest changes that remove those limits. The Architecture Review is the fixed-scope version.
- Migration plans for legacy systems How to move away from a monolith or an aging platform in steps that keep the product running, each step shippable on its own.
- Data modeling One canonical model where several sources and consumers meet, so new feeds, partners and features plug in without rework.
- Failure handling Timeouts, retries, idempotency, back-pressure and recovery, decided up front instead of discovered in production.
When you need this
- You are starting a product whose traffic or data you expect to grow quickly, and you want a design that will not need a rewrite in a year.
- Your system handles today's load, but every new feature is slower to build and riskier to ship than the last.
- You are merging data from several providers or partners, and the integrations are starting to shape the whole system.
- A platform built by another team needs a second opinion before you invest further.
How an engagement works
- Assess We study your product, the load you expect, any existing code, and your constraints: team, budget and deadlines.
- Design We propose the architecture, data model and failure handling. Each decision is written down with the alternatives we rejected and why.
- Review together Your team challenges the design and we adjust it, until it is something your engineers can own.
- Build or hand over We build the system with you, guide your team as they build, or hand over the design with a delivery plan.
What you get
- An architecture document with diagrams of services, data flows and infrastructure
- The data model and the API contracts between the parts
- Decision records with the trade-offs behind each choice
- A delivery plan in steps, each one shippable on its own
- Risks and their mitigations, ranked
Related work
Common questions
Do you design systems you do not build?
Yes. Some clients want the design and a delivery plan for their own team; others want us to build it. The design is written so that either works, and we can stay available for questions while your team builds.
How long does the design phase take?
It depends on the size of the system. For most products it is a few weeks of focused work with a handful of sessions with your team. We give an estimate after a first call.
Which technologies do you design for?
The technology that fits your load, your team and your budget, usually the stack your team already knows. The design is about service boundaries, data flows and failure handling, not about a particular vendor's products.
Can you review an architecture another team proposed?
Yes. We review proposals and existing systems and give you a written opinion: the risks we see and what we would change. The Architecture Review is the fixed-scope form of this.