"We build fast within strict constitutional boundaries. Failures are predictable, traceable, and easy to debug."
| Section | Link |
|---|---|
| The Philosophy | goto → |
| What Is This Repository? | goto → |
| The Constitutional Order | goto → |
| Phase 0: Foundation | goto → |
| Phase 1: Core Architecture | goto → |
| Phase 2: Quality & Reliability | goto → |
| Phase 3: Product & Improvement | goto → |
| Quick Start | goto → |
| How to Use This Template | goto → |
| Repository Structure | goto → |
| Industry Standards | goto → |
| Progress Tracker | goto → |
| License | goto → |
This system does not claim to prevent all bugs. That is impossible in real-world systems.
Instead, it ensures that when failures happen — and they will — they are:
| Principle | How This System Delivers |
|---|---|
| Observable | X-Request-ID, structured logging, error codes |
| Traceable | Request tracing across all services |
| Isolated | Circuit breakers, timeouts, retries |
| Predictable | 3-state UI, standard ApiResponse<T> format |
| Reversible | Rollback plans, feature flags, idempotency |
"We don't remove failure. We shape it, limit it, expose it, and make it recoverable."
| Without Rules | With Your Constitutions |
|---|---|
| Infinite possible bugs | Known categories of bugs |
| Random UI crashes | Predictable error states |
| Inconsistent API responses | Standard ApiResponse<T> format |
| Unpredictable state bugs | 3-state system (loading/error/success) |
AI reduces randomness, not errors. It increases predictability of system behavior under failure.
| Without AI | With AI |
|---|---|
| Random inconsistencies | Enforced patterns |
| Manual validation everywhere | Generated Zod schemas from OpenAPI |
| Slow debugging | Structured failure analysis |
| Level | Mindset | This System |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | "Just build it and see what happens" | ❌ |
| Intermediate | "Try to prevent all bugs" | ❌ |
| Senior | "Assume everything breaks and design for failure" | ✅ |
| Architect | "Define boundaries so failure is structured, visible, and cheap to fix" | ✅✅ |
This repository contains 10 locked constitutions that govern every aspect of building production-grade systems. Each constitution defines non-negotiable rules for a specific domain:
| Constitution | Focus |
|---|---|
| Team & Process | How the team operates |
| Code Quality | How code is written |
| Backend | How APIs are built |
| Auth Domain | How users authenticate |
| Frontend | How UIs are built |
| Database | How data is stored |
| Testing | How code is verified |
| Infrastructure | Where code runs |
| Incident Response | How failures are handled |
| Product & Feature | What to build next |
Total: 355 rules + Auth Domain specification
Golden Rule: Build constitutions in the order your system would fail without them.
| Order | Constitution | Why First | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team & Process | Without team process, no other constitution will be followed |  |
| 2 | Code Quality & Review | Set coding standards before writing any code | |
| Order | Constitution | Why This Order | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Backend Constitution | Foundation of your system — APIs, auth, database patterns |  |
| 4 | Auth Domain Specification | First feature every system needs — security-critical | |
| 5 | Frontend Constitution | Depends on backend and auth — build after they're locked | |
| 6 | Database Constitution | Source of truth — lock after backend patterns are defined | |
| Order | Constitution | Why This Order | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Testing Constitution | Need to trust your code before production | |
| 8 | Infrastructure Constitution | Need to deploy before production | |
| 9 | Incident Response Constitution | Need to handle failures before launch | |
| Order | Constitution | Why Last | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Product & Feature Constitution | After launch — decide what to build next | |
# Step 1: Clone this repository into your project
git clone https://github.com/MALULEKE-KS/system-design-template.git .system-design
# Step 2: Open the constitutional order
open .system-design/00-ORDER/constitutional-order.html
# Step 3: Follow the 10-step order
# Step 4: Use the checklist to track progress
# Step 5: Build your Auth Domain codeFor Solo Founder
# Same steps — each constitution is designed to work for solo founders
# Simplified versions, less ceremony, same rigor
Click to expand — detailed instructions
With AI (Cursor/Copilot):
- Clone this repo into .system-design/
- Tell your AI: "Read .system-design/00-ORDER/constitutional-order.html and guide me through Phase 0"
- Follow the AI's guidance
Manually:
- Open 00-ORDER/constitutional-order.html in your browser
- Start with Constitution #1 (Team & Process)
- Read the rules, implement them
- Check off items in 00-ORDER/build-checklist.md
- Move to the next constitution
Pro Tip: Don't skip Phase 0. Team & Process and Code Quality are the foundation that makes everything else work.
system-design-template/
│
├── 📄 README.md # This file
├── 📄 LICENSE # MIT License
├── 📄 .gitignore # Git ignore rules
│
├── 📁 00-ORDER/ # START HERE
│ └── 📄 constitutional-order.html # The 10-step build order
│
├── 📁 01-FOUNDATION/ # Phase 0
│ ├── 📄 team-process-constitution.html
│ └── 📄 code-quality-constitution.html
│
├── 📁 02-CORE-ARCHITECTURE/ # Phase 1
│ ├── 📄 backend-constitution.html
│ ├── 📄 auth-domain-specification.html
│ ├── 📄 frontend-constitution.html
│ └── 📄 database-constitution.html
│
├── 📁 03-QUALITY-RELIABILITY/ # Phase 2
│ ├── 📄 testing-constitution.html
│ ├── 📄 infrastructure-constitution.html
│ └── 📄 incident-response-constitution.html
│
└── 📁 04-PRODUCT/ # Phase 3
└── 📄 product-feature-constitution.html
All constitutions are built on industry best practices from:
Phase Constitutions Progress
Phase 0 2
Phase 1 4
(Backend ✅, Frontend ✅, Auth ⏳, Database ⏳)
Phase 2 3
Phase 3 1
Total 10
2 of 10 constitutions locked
This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.
MIT License
Copyright (c) 2026 MALULEKE-KS
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...
Built with African roots • Designed for global impact
The Sky Is The Limit — by KSDRILL-SA
