Solution Design & Architecture

6 build exercises to practise the concepts in this domain.

1.1 — Write a One-Page Solution Brief

How to quantify a business problem before proposing a solution
How to capture the constraint set that eliminates architectures
How to state a success criterion with a metric, baseline, and target
How to map a requirement to a task shape
How to draw the boundary between deterministic code and model calls

1.2 — Six-Stage Architecture Audit

How to decompose any Claude system into the six pipeline stages
How to spot the missing stage in a described architecture
How to design a failure path for the model call
How to design a feedback loop that makes quality measurable

1.3 — Pattern Selection Matrix

How to identify the selection cue for each of the five workflow patterns
How to apply the simplest-solution decision rule to real tasks
How to justify tier escalation with a named requirement the simpler tier fails
How to argue a pattern choice the way the exam expects

1.4 — Design a Bounded Orchestrator

When a multi-agent architecture is justified and when it is not
How to write a coordinator decomposition strategy with partitioned scopes
What a complete subagent brief contains
How to preserve attribution across agent boundaries
How to write the value case that clears the token multiplier

1.5 — Decompose a Document-Analysis Pipeline

How to choose a decomposition axis and defend it against alternatives
How to design local passes plus an integration pass against attention dilution
How to define structured intermediate outputs that preserve attribution
How to write acceptance gates that stop error propagation between stages

1.6 — Write the Value Case and SLA Budget

How to name the pillar a solution serves with a metric, baseline, and target
How to build a unit-economics model including caching and batching effects
How to decompose a p95 latency target into per-stage budgets
How to design the fallback chain that keeps a service inside its availability SLA