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Tech architecture: Solution options, NFRs, C4, and ADRs

By Sculptor team

Document TS-001, ADR-001, NFR-001, and C4 models—technical strategy for startup MVPs and enterprise integration-heavy programs.

  • startup strategy
  • strategy pack
  • tech architecture
  • TS-001
  • ADR-001
  • NFR-001
  • C4
  • engineering

If you are building a company and feel lost about technical architecture strategy, you are not alone. This phase exists so your Strategy Pack stays honest—not pretty.

What this phase is really about

Tech and architecture translate product intent into buildable, operable systems. You compare options, record decisions, and model context with C4. Startups balance speed and debt consciously; enterprises document integrations, security, and scale paths.

In Sculptor, TechSolutionAgent and ArchitectureAgent keeps the conversation anchored to Tech + architecture so you do not mix this work with other phases. That separation is how consultants run engagements: one room, one decision set, one artefact pack.

Why teams skip this (and regret it later)

Founders outsource “just build it” and discover compliance, cost, or latency walls late. Without ADR and NFR ids, org design and finance plan for a product that architecture cannot support.

Questions this phase must answer

  • What are two viable architecture options and their trade-offs?
  • Which NFRs are binding for year one (latency, uptime, privacy)?
  • Where do we buy vs build vs partner?
  • What is the smallest deployable slice on chosen stack?
  • How do data flows cross trust boundaries?
  • Which ADRs must be decided before hiring specialists?
  • What migration path exists if MVP succeeds?
  • How does tech map to backlog enablers?

Deliverables you should leave with

Tech artefacts capture solution options (TS), architecture decision records (ADR), non-functional requirements (NFR), and C4 views—enough for engineering to estimate and security to review.

  • TS-001 solution option comparison
  • ADR-001 decision log with status
  • NFR-001 quality attribute table
  • C4CTX-001 and C4CON-001 context/container diagrams

What to prepare before you start

  • Backlog MVP scope and PROT learnings
  • Existing enterprise standards or cloud accounts
  • Security and compliance inputs from /compliance if started

Who should own the answers

Engineering leadership owns ADRs; product prioritizes NFR conflicts; security architecture reviews trust boundaries. Sponsors fund options, not infinite spikes.

How this connects to the rest of your pack

This phase sits in the Solution and operations group on the Strategy Pack journey.

Previous: Earlier phase

Next: Next phase

See the complete phase guide for all specialists.

Examples from the real world (names changed)

A fintech app ADR-001 chose event sourcing for auditability, shaping hiring and /org RACI for on-call.

A B2B SaaS vendor C4CON-001 exposed a monolith boundary that let one squad ship PROT flows while platform hardened SSO.

Use this in Sculptor tomorrow

  1. Open Sculptor and create or open a workspace project.
  2. In Chat, type /tech or pick Tech + architecture from the command palette—the same rules apply as the slash.
  3. For breadth, start an Agentic Strategy Pack run; the phase executes in journey order and saves library assets.
  4. Read From specialist chat to a library-ready Strategy Pack for how chat and Agentic runs fit together.

Keyword focus: technical architecture strategy, Strategy Pack coach, startup strategy planning, AI strategy specialist.