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Balanced Coupling (Modularity Design Model)

A reference skill that evaluates coupling across integration strength, distance, and volatility to guide split-or-merge and architecture decisions.

Dev & CodingAdvanced★ 508⑂ 32AI score 8/10Last updated: Apr 4, 2026

What it does

Gives Claude the full Balanced Coupling model by Vlad Khononov:

  • Classifies Integration Strength: Intrusive → Functional → Model → Contract, mapped to classic module coupling and connascence
  • Assesses Distance: method → object → package → service → system, including socio-technical (team structure) and runtime factors
  • Estimates Volatility using DDD subdomains (core / supporting / generic), not commit history
  • Applies the balance rule MODULARITY = STRENGTH XOR DISTANCE and BALANCE = (STRENGTH XOR DISTANCE) OR NOT VOLATILITY
  • Flags distributed-monolith and low-cohesion anti-patterns, and explains DDD terms in plain language

Who it's for

  • Backend/platform engineers weighing microservice splits or merges
  • Architects designing module boundaries, bounded contexts, and integration patterns
  • Tech leads who need language for why changes ripple across the codebase
  • Developers connecting DDD strategic/tactical patterns to real coupling decisions

Example uses

  1. "Order service reads Payment's database tables directly — is that OK?" → diagnosed as intrusive coupling at high distance (unbalanced), with a contract-based integration proposal
  2. "Should I break this monolith into three services?" → weighs integration strength and volatility per boundary and warns about distributed-monolith risk
  3. "Do I need an abstraction layer over AWS Polly for TTS?" → evaluates implementation volatility of a generic subdomain to decide whether a contract is warranted

· · · Install guide · · ·

Try it now, no install

Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.

Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vladikk/modularity/HEAD/skills/balanced-coupling/SKILL.md

What I want: (describe your task here)

If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.

↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.

Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
  1. Download the ZIP with the button below.
  2. In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
  3. Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
↓ Download ZIP
Install in Claude Code

Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code

Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart.
Copy the skills/balanced-coupling folder from the GitHub repo vladikk/modularity into my ~/.claude/skills/balanced-coupling/.
When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.

Install with a command instead

git clone https://github.com/vladikk/modularity.git /tmp/modularity && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r /tmp/modularity/skills/balanced-coupling ~/.claude/skills/

⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.

  1. Open a terminal.
  2. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/vladikk/modularity.git
  3. Create the skills directory: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
  4. Copy the skill: cp -r modularity/skills/balanced-coupling ~/.claude/skills/
  5. Restart Claude Code and ask an architecture question such as "Is the coupling between these modules balanced?" The skill is marked user-invocable: false, so it activates automatically from context rather than by direct invocation.
View source on GitHub ↗License: NOASSERTION