Comprehensive end-to-end walkthroughs demonstrating the complete SAAT workflow across three different domains.
1. E-Commerce Platform - Brownfield Modernization
Scenario: Transform a failing monolithic PHP app into scalable microservices
- Type: Brownfield (existing codebase)
- Domain: E-commerce / Retail
- Focus: Availability, Performance, Scalability
- Compliance: PCI-DSS, GDPR
- Timeline: 12 months
- Complexity: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
You'll Learn:
- Using
saat-discoverto analyze existing codebases - Strangler fig migration pattern
- Active-active deployment strategies
- E-commerce architecture characteristics
- PCI-DSS payment processing compliance
Key Challenges:
- Payment service single point of failure (CRITICAL)
- Database scalability bottleneck
- No caching layer (350ms → 100ms target)
- Zero downtime migration
Start E-Commerce Walkthrough →
2. Microservices API Gateway - Greenfield Project
Scenario: Build a high-performance API gateway from requirements
- Type: Greenfield (new project)
- Domain: Enterprise SaaS Platform
- Focus: Performance, Scalability, Security
- Compliance: SOC 2
- Timeline: 3 months
- Complexity: ⭐⭐⭐
You'll Learn:
- Using
saat-requirementsto extract structured requirements - Ultra-low latency architecture (<10ms p99)
- Multi-cloud deployment (AWS + GCP)
- API security patterns (OAuth 2.0, rate limiting)
- Performance testing with k6
Key Challenges:
- Sub-10ms latency requirement
- 100,000 requests/second throughput
- Multi-cloud portability
- Blue-green deployment strategy
Start API Gateway Walkthrough →
3. Healthcare Patient Portal - HIPAA Compliance
Scenario: Build a HIPAA-compliant patient portal with EHR integration
- Type: Hybrid (new portal + legacy integration)
- Domain: Healthcare / Telemedicine
- Focus: Security, Privacy, Auditability
- Compliance: HIPAA, HITECH
- Timeline: 9 months
- Complexity: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
You'll Learn:
- HIPAA Security Rule compliance (164.308, 164.310, 164.312)
- PHI protection strategies (encryption, access control)
- Zero trust architecture for healthcare
- Break-the-glass emergency access
- HL7 FHIR EHR integration
Key Challenges:
- Zero PHI breaches (non-negotiable)
- 100% audit trail for all PHI access
- EHR integration (Epic, Cerner)
- Business Associate Agreements (BAAs)
Start Healthcare Walkthrough →
| Aspect | E-Commerce | API Gateway | Healthcare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Brownfield | Greenfield | Hybrid |
| First Agent | saat-discover |
saat-requirements |
saat-requirements + saat-discover |
| Primary Focus | Scalability | Performance | Compliance |
| Complexity | High | Medium | Very High |
| Compliance | PCI-DSS | SOC 2 | HIPAA |
| Timeline | 12 months | 3 months | 9 months |
| Best For | Refactoring monoliths | Building from scratch | Regulated industries |
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New to SAAT? → Start with API Gateway
- Greenfield is easier to understand
- Focuses on one problem (performance)
- Quickest to complete (3-4 hours)
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Need to modernize existing system? → Try E-Commerce
- Real-world migration scenario
- Learn discovery and analysis
- Comprehensive architecture patterns
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Working in regulated industry? → Study Healthcare
- HIPAA compliance deep dive
- Security and audit patterns
- Compliance-first architecture
1. API Gateway Walkthrough (4 hours)
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2. Review SAAT Agents Guide (1 hour)
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3. Try Interactive Characteristics Generator (30 min)
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4. Explore Example Files (1 hour)
1. API Gateway (4 hours)
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2. E-Commerce Platform (6 hours)
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3. Compare brownfield vs. greenfield workflows (1 hour)
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4. Customize for your project (4 hours)
1. All three walkthroughs (15 hours)
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2. Deploy to cloud (staging) (5 hours)
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3. Load/security testing (3 hours)
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4. Full compliance audit simulation (3 hours)
- ✅ C4 Modeling - Systems, Containers, Components, Relationships
- ✅ Architecture Characteristics - 14 standard characteristics (Mark Richards)
- ✅ Criticality Levels - CS1, CS2, SL1, SL2, STANDARD
- ✅ Gap Analysis - Identify and prioritize improvements
- ✅ Architecture Decision Records - Document key decisions
- ✅ Microservices Patterns - Service mesh, event-driven, CQRS
- ✅ Cloud Architecture - AWS, GCP, multi-cloud
- ✅ Infrastructure as Code - Terraform, multi-region
- ✅ API Design - REST, GraphQL, gRPC
- ✅ Security Patterns - Zero trust, encryption, audit
- ✅ PCI-DSS - Payment card compliance
- ✅ HIPAA - Healthcare data protection
- ✅ GDPR - Data privacy regulations
- ✅ SOC 2 - Security controls
- ✅ All 11 SAAT agents
- ✅ Brownfield workflow (discover → modernize)
- ✅ Greenfield workflow (requirements → design)
- ✅ Compliance workflow (validate → audit)
- ✅ Full pipeline orchestration
- Start simple - Don't try to customize on first pass
- Follow walkthrough exactly - Build understanding first
- Take notes - Document what you learn
- Ask questions - Open issues for clarification
- Compare patterns - See how same problems solved differently
- Adapt to your context - Copy patterns, not implementations
- Focus on tradeoffs - Understand when to use each pattern
- Consider constraints - Budget, timeline, team skills
- Walkthrough together - Pair/mob programming style
- Discuss decisions - Why this pattern vs. alternatives?
- Create your own - Build walkthrough for your domain
- Share learnings - Contribute back to community
- Characteristics Files - 5 domain examples
- Sample Outputs - Analysis results
- Requirements Docs - Requirements examples
- Badge Generator - Create analysis badges
- Interactive Generator - Build characteristics
- Shell Completions - Bash/Zsh completions
- GitHub Actions Template - Automated analysis
- Docker Setup - Containerized SAAT
- SAAT Agents Guide - Complete agent reference
- Installation Guide - Setup instructions
- Roadmap - Future enhancements
Have a unique architecture challenge? Create a reference walkthrough:
# 1. Copy template
cp -r reference-projects/microservices-gateway reference-projects/my-project
# 2. Update README.md
# - Project overview
# - Business context
# - Architecture highlights
# 3. Create WALKTHROUGH.md
# - Step-by-step SAAT workflow
# - Agent invocations
# - Key learnings
# 4. Add example files
# - requirements.md or discovery.json
# - characteristics.json
# - architecture.json
# 5. Submit PR!Found an issue or have suggestions?
- Open an issue describing the improvement
- Fork the repository
- Make your changes
- Submit a pull request
A: For most people, start with API Gateway (greenfield). It's the simplest and focuses on one problem area. If you're modernizing an existing system, start with E-Commerce (brownfield).
A: No, the walkthroughs are primarily learning exercises. You can follow along without deploying anything. However, deploying to a sandbox environment reinforces learning.
A: The patterns and architecture are production-ready, but you should:
- Adapt to your specific requirements
- Conduct proper security audits
- Perform load testing
- Engage compliance experts (for regulated industries)
A:
- API Gateway: 3-4 hours
- E-Commerce: 5-6 hours
- Healthcare: 6-8 hours
Add 50% more time if deploying to cloud.
A: Yes! They're based on real-world projects and include realistic:
- Architecture scores (not perfect!)
- Gap analysis with actual effort estimates
- Security findings with CVSS scores
- Compliance gaps
A: The patterns are transferable:
- Finance → Use Healthcare (similar compliance needs)
- IoT → Use API Gateway (performance focus)
- Media → Use E-Commerce (scalability focus)
Or create your own walkthrough following the templates!
- Choose a walkthrough based on your needs
- Read the README to understand the scenario
- Follow the WALKTHROUGH.md step-by-step
- Review generated files (JSON, docs, Terraform)
- Adapt patterns to your project
Share your SAAT journey! Open an issue with:
- Which walkthrough you completed
- What you learned
- How you applied it to your project
We'd love to hear from you!
Ready to start? Choose your walkthrough: