---
name: design-alternatives
description: Guides structured evaluation of design options with trade-off analysis. Use this skill when choosing architectures, selecting technologies, evaluating implementation approaches, or making design decisions.
---

# Design Alternatives

## Instructions

### Core Principle

**Always propose 2-3 alternatives** with comprehensive analysis for each.

### For Each Alternative

1. **Advantages**: Benefits and problems it solves well
2. **Disadvantages**: Drawbacks, limitations, complexities
3. **Reasoning**: Why this is a good or poor choice
4. **Future Scenarios**: When it breaks down, scalability concerns

### DO / DON'T

**DO**: Think broadly, consider long-term implications, make trade-offs explicit, document reasoning

**DON'T**: Rush to first solution, present only one option, ignore future scalability

## Examples

### Template

```markdown
## Option 1: [Approach Name]
**Advantages:** [Benefits]
**Disadvantages:** [Drawbacks]
**Reasoning:** [Why this makes sense]
**Future Scenarios:** Breaks down when [scenario]

## Option 2: [Alternative]
[Same structure]

## Recommendation
[Based on requirements and future considerations]
```