Architecture Review Library · Real businesses · Public evidence
Systems thinking,
documented through
real businesses.
Independent architecture reviews of real public-facing businesses—covering UX, system boundaries, APIs, data, reliability, migration, and the tradeoffs behind every recommendation.
- Verified vs. assumed, always labeled
- Whole-system reviews, not only UI
- Migration and rollback included
4.
Published reviews
2.
Industries
7.
Methodology stages
PUBLIC.
Evidence sources only
Most portfolios prove someone can ship an interface. This library documents the complete reasoning chain behind a digital system: business goals, UX, system boundaries, APIs, authentication, data, caching, observability, CI/CD, migration risk, and the tradeoffs behind each decision.
Each case study begins with a real public business presence, moves through a current-state review and redesign rationale, and ends with the production architecture I would recommend if hired to build the system today.
Audience
Engineering managers · Staff engineers · Principals · Architects · CTOs
Bias
The simplest architecture that satisfies the actual business need
Evidence
Verified observations, explicit assumptions, and recommendations kept separate
Methodology
A consistent method, applied to every business.
The library stays scannable because each case study follows the same seven-part structure—so a reviewer can jump straight to architecture or tradeoffs.
Executive Summary
What the business does, who its users are, the major opportunity, and the recommended direction.
Current-State Review
Navigation, information architecture, brand hierarchy, accessibility, SEO, performance, conversion paths, and publicly observable behavior.
Redesign Rationale
Why the experience should change—user flows, hierarchy, responsive behavior, accessibility, content design, and measurable UX goals.
Architecture Review
Frontend, backend, APIs, authentication, authorization, data, caching, storage, jobs, integrations, observability, deployment, and system boundaries.
Engineering Decisions
Decision, context, alternatives, tradeoffs, consequences, operational impact, and business impact.
Migration Strategy
Phased delivery, sequencing, compatibility, rollback, risk controls, observability, and cutover approach.
Future Architecture
The target system, why it fits the business, how it scales, and which complexity is intentionally avoided.
The rule
No invented facts.
No proprietary code.
No copied assets.
Technology is recommended only when its value is justified.
Featured case studies
Deep reviews worth starting with
Proof of thinking
A résumé summarizes experience. These reviews show the decisions.
Tradeoffs, migration reasoning, and evidence discipline—open any of these to evaluate how I work.
The library
Browse by industry or search
Every review follows the same structure, so the library stays consistent as new businesses are added.
4 of 4 reviews
Birmingham Bridge Tavern
A well-loved Pittsburgh tavern publishes its menu, specials, and events as freeform brochure text. The right system is a modular monolith with structured content and one reliable inquiry path, and an explicit refusal to build anything distributed.
Chris Driscoll Plumbing
A burst pipe and a bathroom remodel have different response expectations and different failure consequences. This plumber's site funnels both through one page and one form, and the lead pipeline behind it deserves to be the real project.
Revelation Plumbing
A trust-heavy Pittsburgh plumber publishes two different phone numbers across its public surfaces. That is a data-integrity failure, and fixing it takes ownership and monitoring, not a copy edit.
Shootin Bull Tavern
A well-rated Murrysville tavern has no website on its listing at all. The right first system is a nearly static site that answers where, when, and how to call, and the discipline not to build anything more until evidence demands it.
About & contact
Senior software engineer focused on architecture, modernization, and systems that remain operable after launch.
I work across application architecture, APIs, integrations, cloud systems, migration, and long-term maintainability. I care about clear system boundaries, justified technology choices, measurable outcomes, and delivery plans that respect business continuity. This library makes that thinking public.
Full bio & principlesTalk architecture
For engineering roles, architecture reviews, modernization work, and system-design conversations.
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