Commerce at Scale — Studies https://commerceatscale.com/studies Design studies in commerce at scale: one problem each, the options, and the reasoning behind the choice. en-GB Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT What a good specification settles https://commerceatscale.com/studies/specification-settles https://commerceatscale.com/studies/specification-settles Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A specification's job is to close the decisions the build would otherwise have to guess at. The ones worth settling are rarely on the happy path — they are the edges, and settling them early keeps each choice with the people whose choice it is. Using AI as a consistency engine for architecture work https://commerceatscale.com/studies/ai-consistency-engine https://commerceatscale.com/studies/ai-consistency-engine Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Most stories about AI in engineering are about writing code faster. The more useful question for an architect is whether it can make the thinking more consistent without taking over the decisions. Fix the structure, keep the judgement. Where the boundaries go in a multi-brand platform https://commerceatscale.com/studies/multi-brand-seams https://commerceatscale.com/studies/multi-brand-seams Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT One platform serving many brands and markets depends on where you draw the boundaries. Put the boundary where ownership and speed of change differ. Shared, stable behaviour on one side. Brand and market differences on the other, written as configuration and not as copies. Handling order events after checkout, and the one thing that cannot wait https://commerceatscale.com/studies/order-event-bus https://commerceatscale.com/studies/order-event-bus Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Connecting every downstream system directly into checkout makes checkout fragile. Recording the order once and letting each system pick it up on its own time removes that risk — as long as you are honest about the one step that must still happen while the shopper waits. Setting up a large storefront estate without drift https://commerceatscale.com/studies/provisioning-without-drift https://commerceatscale.com/studies/provisioning-without-drift Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT When sites are set up by hand, no two end up the same. Making the configuration the single source of truth — and making the step that applies it safe to repeat — turns setup from weeks into days and stops the differences at the source.