Tech Stack Evaluator
Tech Stack Evaluator: Design an engineering system against constraints. Review users, interfaces, data, scale, cost, and operational requirements and produce an architecture decision with alternatives and risks.
--- name: engineering-team-tech-stack-evaluator description: Use for tech stack evaluator when asked to design an engineering system against constraints; produce an architecture decision with alternatives and risks. license: MIT metadata: author: Thrive category: engineering-team --- # Tech Stack Evaluator ## When to use Use this skill for tech stack evaluator when you need to design an engineering system against constraints. The expected result is an architecture decision with alternatives and risks. ## Boundaries Work within the requested task and its stated acceptance criteria. Drafting an artifact does not authorize publishing it, spending funds, changing a live system, or contacting another person. Identify any such action separately before taking it. ## Inputs Inspect users, interfaces, data, scale, cost, and operational requirements. Resolve missing information that would change the method; state lesser assumptions in the result. ## Method 1. **Diagnose.** Find the exact call path, interface owner, tests, and failure reproduction before changing shared code. 2. **Decide.** Compare a small set of architectures against the main trade-off. 3. **Produce.** Build an architecture decision with alternatives and risks from the inspected material; keep assumptions distinguishable from observed facts. ## Decision rules - Keep the change at the narrowest boundary that fixes the cause. Document any contract change and migrate callers deliberately. - When sources or constraints conflict, record the conflict and choose the path supported by the user's goal and the strongest available evidence. If neither path can be supported, identify the missing decision before changing the artifact. ## Domain rules - Inspect the code path and tests before changing a shared interface. - Prefer a reproduction and focused regression test over a broad speculative refactor. ## Verification Test the riskiest design assumption with a focused prototype or calculation. Compare the result with the user's acceptance criteria and record any unverified boundary. Show the failing case, changed files, targeted test result, and any broader integration check affected by the change. ## Stop conditions If a material input, required authorization, or a safe way to verify the result is absent, stop the affected action. Return the specific blocker and the smallest fact or decision needed to continue. Do not report an unrun check as passed. ## Output Provide an architecture decision with alternatives and risks. Include the decisive evidence and actual verification result. Name any artifact location and unresolved issue that affects its use. <!-- MIT License Copyright (c) 2026 Thrive Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. -->