Source: [Start with what you want to work on.](https://treenodes.com/articles/reading-paths/) This Markdown version is generated from the public page. Visit the source for interactive examples and full-size visuals. [← All articles](https://treenodes.com/articles/) READ BY GOAL # Start with what you want to work on. Three routes through the articles. Each builds from an idea to a practical exercise. Follow the order, or go straight to the question you’re working through. PATH 01 · 5 ARTICLES ## Designing an AI system Choose the parts, define the task, give the agent useful context, then apply it to a changing design. **What you’ll work towards**A clearer system design and a task brief you can try with an AI model. [Start this path](https://treenodes.com/articles/how-ai-systems-fit-together/) 1. [ 13 min read ### How AI systems fit together Choose the model, knowledge, execution and integration parts for a supplier review. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/how-ai-systems-fit-together/) 2. [ 6 min read ### Skills, MCP, RAG and Memory: How an AI Agent Investigates a 500 Error Trace a publishing failure and distinguish the roles of skills, MCP, RAG and memory. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/skills-mcp-rag-memory-500-error/) 3. [ 5 min read ### Giving AI a job description Turn that design into a task contract with inputs, limits and an output schema. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/giving-ai-a-job-description/) 4. [ 6 min read ### Give AI agents a design reference Give a coding agent concrete design references it can use during implementation. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/design-references-for-ai-agents/) 5. [ 13 min read ### What is Astra, and when would I use it? Apply the approach to a booking migration and follow the decisions when requirements change. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/astra-and-the-moment-the-brief-changes/) PATH 02 · 6 ARTICLES ## Improving business workflows Understand the work people actually do before changing the software that supports it. **What you’ll work towards**A map of hidden rules, responsibilities and exceptions, with a small improvement to test. [Start this path](https://treenodes.com/articles/software-should-follow-the-business/) 1. [ 11 min read ### Software should follow the business Start with the operation and identify the rules your software needs to support. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/software-should-follow-the-business/) 2. [ 10 min read ### The person missing from the diagram Find the people who keep handoffs moving and make their responsibilities explicit. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/the-person-missing-from-the-diagram/) 3. [ 11 min read ### What the spreadsheet knows that the system does not Extract the rules and local knowledge stored in an everyday spreadsheet. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/what-the-spreadsheet-knows-that-the-system-does-not/) 4. [ 15 min read ### The exception path is the real workflow Design what happens when evidence is missing, approval stalls or a service fails. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/the-exception-path-is-the-real-workflow/) 5. [ 3 min read ### Kaizen, applied to software Choose one small change and decide how you will tell whether it helped. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/kaizen-and-software/) 6. [ 25 min read ### Jira and Confluence: From a Business Question to a Working Feature Map how work happens with the people doing it, then connect agreed improvements to decisions, Jira work and validation. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/jira-confluence-business-question-to-working-feature/) PATH 03 · 5 ARTICLES ## Making architecture decisions Understand what software architecture means, model the system, choose useful views, then trace what happens at runtime. **What you’ll work towards**A design you can explain at several levels, from business rules to a running machine. [Start this path](https://treenodes.com/articles/what-is-software-architecture/) 1. [ 6 min read ### What is software architecture? Understand software architecture: the parts of a system, their responsibilities, and the decisions that connect them. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/what-is-software-architecture/) 2. [ 5 min read ### Modelling the system before the code Model an order process before choosing the implementation. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/modelling-the-system-before-the-code/) 3. [ 25 min read ### The C4 model: architecture at the right level Turn the model into architecture views that answer different readers’ questions. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/c4-model-software-architecture/) 4. [ 16 min read ### What happens when you press a computer’s power button? Follow the running system down to its foundations: firmware, operating system and processes. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/what-happens-when-you-press-the-power-button/) 5. [ 8 min read ### If AI can build the software, what is the architect for? Connect AI-assisted implementation to business meaning, system ownership and a recoverable first release. ](https://treenodes.com/articles/if-ai-can-build-software-what-is-the-architect-for/) Each article includes a prompt, code, commands or a worksheet you can try. Reading times exclude the exercises. [Browse all practical resources →](https://treenodes.com/resources/)