Engineering Principles for Reliable Systems (WIP)

Goal

Establish engineering principles that guide teams toward better technical decisions and prevent common architectural mistakes.

Core Principles

1. Prefer Simplicity Over Complexity

Every complexity level requires clear justification. If the reason cannot be articulated, the complexity should not exist.

2. Dead Letter Queues Are Not Optional

Every processing queue must have a corresponding dead letter queue.

Without a DLQ, failures have no visibility and no recovery path. This is not about best practices; it is an operational necessity.

Implementation Notes

Consider separating high-level principles from specific technical decisions (ADRs - Architecture Decision Records). Principles guide thinking; ADRs document specific choices and their context.