⚖️ 7. Decision Framework & Decision Engine
This framework guides the engineering team through making sound, architecturally consistent, and future-proof decisions.
❓ Core Questions to Ask
Before making any technical or product decision, ask:
- Does it solve a real problem? (Avoid vanity features or unnecessary optimizations).
- Can it be simpler? (Keep it simple and readable).
- Will it scale? (Ensure performance under load).
- Is it maintainable? (Think about future maintenance costs).
- Will future developers understand it? (Prioritize code readability and comments).
- Does it fit the Vision? (Align with SplitDee’s relationship-focused expense management).
- Can AI understand it? (Keep designs clean so AI agents can assist efficiently).
🔄 The Decision Engine Workflow
When introducing a new feature or making a major architectural change, document the decision by flowing through the following steps:
[ New Feature / Change ]
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[ Why? ] ───────────────────► Explain the core motivation
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[ Who benefits? ] ──────────────► Identify target users
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[ Current pain? ] ─────────────► What is the current manual workaround?
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[ Alternative? ] ─────────────► Explore at least one other solution
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[ Trade-offs? ] ──────────────► Assess pros vs cons (speed, complexity, cost)
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[ Architecture Impact? ] ────────► Does it affect Clean Architecture layers?
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[ Database Impact? ] ──────────► Are there schema migrations or new tables?
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[ API Impact? ] ─────────────► Does it change request/response payloads?
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[ Security Impact? ] ──────────► Check auth, JWT, or data access controls
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[ Future Impact? ] ───────────► How does it affect scaling or extensions?
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[ Decision ] ───────────────► Final conclusion and recording in DECISIONS.md