structurefirst

Structurefirst is a design philosophy in software engineering that prioritizes defining the system’s structure and data organization before implementing features. It emphasizes clear boundaries, stable interfaces, and modular decomposition to support maintainability, evolution, and scalability. The term describes an approach rather than a specific framework or product.

Core ideas include modeling the domain to identify bounded contexts and aggregates, designing explicit interfaces and contracts between modules, and establishing data flows and invariants that constrain implementations. This approach often aligns with domain-driven design practices and favors architectural decisions that promote loose coupling and high cohesion. It also promotes early decisions on storage, messaging, and consistency boundaries.

Practices commonly associated with structurefirst include creating architectural blueprints or models, writing architectural decision records, and using contract-first API design, schema-driven data models, or interface definitions to guide implementation. Teams may employ modeling languages, JSON schemas, or UML diagrams to capture structure before coding. Architectural choices are revisited as requirements evolve, with refactoring focused on preserving interface stability.

Benefits include clearer system boundaries, improved testability, easier maintenance, and more predictable evolution. Drawbacks include potential upfront overhead and the risk of over-design if requirements remain unclear; success depends on disciplined governance, stakeholder involvement, and ongoing alignment with business needs. Structurefirst is applicable across software architecture, data modeling, and system design, and is often discussed in relation to domain-driven design and modular architectures.