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Module Quiz

Complete this quiz after finishing all concept and practice pages. Save your answers before opening separate quiz calibration.

Current Module Questions​

Question 1: Architecture vs Design Decision​

For each, classify as architecture or design and justify in one sentence:

  • (a) switching the orders service from REST to gRPC for inter-service calls
  • (b) renaming an internal helper function
  • (c) adopting OpenTelemetry across all services

Question 2: Reversibility​

Your team is choosing a feature-flag service. Two candidates: a self-hosted open-source option, a SaaS vendor. Classify the decision as one-way or two-way, and explain what to put in the ADR.

Question 3: ADR Critique and Rewrite​

Critique this ADR excerpt and rewrite the weakest section.

ADR-0089: Adopt Kafka

Status: Accepted

Context: We need a message broker.

Decision: Use Kafka.

Consequences: Enables event-driven architecture. Industry standard.

Question 4: Template Choice​

A team is deciding between four CI providers. Which template fits and why?

Question 5: Status Transition​

You wrote ADR-0012 ("use DynamoDB for sessions") two years ago; now you want to switch to Aurora. Which ADR changes, how, and in what order?

Question 6: ATAM Vocabulary​

Define sensitivity point and tradeoff point. Give one example of each.

Question 7: Risk-Driven Review​

Why is "we review every architectural change with the same depth" a failure mode?

Question 8: Lightweight Peer Review​

A team has a culture of "two LGTMs and merge." Why is this a weaker signal than it looks?

Question 9: Review Preparation​

A manager sends a meeting invite titled "Architecture decision discussion" with 10 attendees and no pre-read. Predict three things that will go wrong.

Question 10: Facilitation​

Your review is 15 minutes in. A senior engineer interjects with: "Look, this is the wrong approach. Kafka is overkill. Why aren't we just using SQS?" How should the facilitator respond?

Question 11: Fitness Function Design​

A claim in an ADR reads: "No module may have cyclic dependencies." Propose a fitness function: shape, tooling, where it runs, exemption path.

Question 12: Drift Audit​

Your team finds a service calling another team's database directly, despite an ADR forbidding it. What type of drift is this, and what should you do?

Question 13: ADR Critique and Rewrite​

Critique and rewrite the Consequences section of this ADR.

ADR-0045: Adopt Feature Flags

Consequences: We will be able to ship faster. Developers will be happy. This is best practice.

Question 14: ADR Bureaucracy Risk​

An organization mandates ADRs for every PR above 100 lines. Predict the failure modes.

Question 15: Community of Practice Failure​

A company appoints an "Architecture Review Board" that must approve all architecture decisions. Predict the failure modes.

Interleaved Review Questions​

Prior Module Question 1 (S7 Module 1: Architecture Fundamentals & Quality)​

What is a quality attribute, and why is it the right unit for a scenario in an ATAM utility tree?

Prior Module Question 2 (S7 Module 2: Patterns & Modular Architecture)​

Give one example where the choice of architecture pattern (layered, event-driven, microkernel, etc.) is a tradeoff point between two quality attributes.

Prior Module Question 3 (S7 Module 3: DDD & Bounded Contexts)​

How does a bounded context relate to an architecture decision about service boundaries?

Prior Module Question 4 (S7 Module 4: API Design & Contract Evolution)​

Why is a public API shape typically a one-way door?

Prior Module Question 5 (S1 / S5: Testing & CI)​

Why is a fitness function closer to a property test or integration test than a unit test, even when the code looks similar?

Self-Assessment and Remediation​

Mastery Level (90-100% correct):

  • Ready to apply this in your current role. Focus next on running one drift audit per quarter.

Proficient Level (75-89% correct):

  • Review the missed concept pages. Prioritize any gaps in ADR mechanics (Cluster 2) or facilitation (Cluster 4).

Developing Level (60-74% correct):

  • Rework Practice 1 (ADR Writing Workshop) and Practice 2 (Mock Architecture Review). Expect Cluster 2 and Cluster 4 to be the main gap.

Insufficient Level (<60% correct):

  • Return to the concept sequence. Most likely issue: you are still treating ADRs as documentation instead of as governance. Restart with Cluster 1 and produce 5 ADR critiques before attempting the rest.

Progression boundary​

Quiz performance calibrates retrieval and reasoning. It does not replace runnable work, changed-case transfer, the module assessment or required semester evidence. Consult practice calibration for the additional independent cases.