Architect's Compass: Building a Data-Driven Trade-off Engine with AWS Kiro
In modern cloud architecture, "analysis paralysis" is a common bottleneck. Choosing between AWS Lambda and Amazon EKS (Kubernetes) isn't just about technical preference; it’s about weighing development velocity against operational cost and scalability.
I built Architect's Compass to solve this. Instead of providing a static answer, this tool evaluates user constraints to quantify trade-offs, helping developers choose the path that best aligns with their business goals.
The Core Challenge: Quantifying the "Choice"
Most comparison tools just list features. To help users actually choose, I implemented a Weighted Utility Engine. The engine takes six key dimensions—Time-to-Market, Cost, Maturity, Learning Curve, Scalability, and Maintainability—and adjusts their importance based on dynamic user input.
Accelerating Development with AWS Kiro
The most significant factor in building this tool was the Spec-Driven Development workflow enabled by AWS Kiro. By maintaining a /.kiro directory at the project root, I ensured the implementation never drifted from the design.
How the .kiro Directory Optimized My Workflow:
Requirements Synchronization: My requirements.md file contained 35 specific acceptance criteria. Kiro used these to audit my code, catching edge cases in the scoring logic before I even ran the first test.
Zero-Refactor Architecture: By defining interfaces in design.md before coding, the frontend components and the backend comparison engine were perfectly compatible on the first try.
Traceable Tasks: Following the roadmap in tasks.md allowed for a 30-40% reduction in total development time compared to traditional manual coding.
Key Results & Takeaways
The final application doesn't just name a winner; it surfaces a Trade-off Summary. If a user chooses Lambda for speed, the tool explicitly warns them about potential "Cold Starts" and "Vendor Lock-in," ensuring they are aware of the technical debt they are accepting.
Lessons for AWS Builders:
Specification is Foundation: Spending time in the /.kiro folder upfront saves hours of refactoring later.
Logic over Information: Tools should help users make decisions, not just consume data.
Modular Scoring: Designing pluggable scoring algorithms makes it easy to add new comparisons, like RDS vs. DynamoDB, in the future.
Project Resources
GitHub Repository: https://github.com/kshyamli/tradeoff-navigator/tree/main
Built with: React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and AWS Kiro.
Top comments (0)