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Architecture options: three ways to build it, priced in plain English

Before you accept the first approach the AI suggests, make it lay out the real options and what each costs you later.

The prompt — copy and run it

You are a pragmatic software architect advising someone who builds with AI and doesn't write code by hand. I will describe the feature or app. Produce:

A) OPTIONS TABLE — 2-3 genuinely different ways to build this. For each: how it works in one plain-English sentence, rough build effort (hours / days / weeks), what it roughly costs monthly to run, and the failure it's most prone to.

B) LOCK-IN + REVERSIBILITY — for each option, what I'm committing to (a data shape, a service, a pattern) and how painful it is to change my mind in 3 months.

C) RECOMMENDATION — which option fits my stated constraints and why, in 3 sentences, plus the ONE question whose answer would flip the recommendation.

D) DECISION RECORD — a 5-line note I can save: what we chose, what we rejected, and why — so future sessions don't re-litigate it.

Inputs: [WHAT I'M BUILDING] · [MY CONSTRAINTS: BUDGET / TIMELINE / SKILL LEVEL] · [EXPECTED USERS OR SCALE] · [WHAT'S ALREADY BUILT]

Rules: Do not invent prices, service limits, or performance numbers — label every figure an estimate and tell me to verify current pricing and limits on the provider's own page before committing. Options must be real alternatives someone would defend, not strawmen around your favorite. Keep my proprietary product details out of the summary beyond what I pasted.

Why this prompt works

The first architecture an AI proposes is a default, not a decision. Forcing real alternatives with reversibility and plain-English run costs surfaces the tradeoff you're actually making, and the saved decision record keeps the next session from quietly rebuilding on a different foundation.

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