# Context Discovery
> Before suggesting any architecture, gather context.
## Question Hierarchy (Ask User FIRST)
1. **Scale**
- How many users? (10, 1K, 100K, 1M+)
- Data volume? (MB, GB, TB)
- Transaction rate? (per second/minute)
2. **Team**
- Solo developer or team?
- Team size and expertise?
- Distributed or co-located?
3. **Timeline**
- MVP/Prototype or long-term product?
- Time to market pressure?
4. **Domain**
- CRUD-heavy or business logic complex?
- Real-time requirements?
- Compliance/regulations?
5. **Constraints**
- Budget limitations?
- Legacy systems to integrate?
- Technology stack preferences?
## Project Classification Matrix
```
MVP SaaS Enterprise
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Scale │ <1K │ 1K-100K │ 100K+ │
│ Team │ Solo │ 2-10 │ 10+ │
│ Timeline │ Fast (weeks) │ Medium (months)│ Long (years)│
│ Architecture │ Simple │ Modular │ Distributed │
│ Patterns │ Minimal │ Selective │ Comprehensive│
│ Example │ Next.js API │ NestJS │ Microservices│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
