# Task Statement 2.1: Design Scalable and Loosely Coupled Architectures

This study group guide will explore **scalable, event-driven, and microservices-based architectures** using AWS best practices. We will follow **SecureCart**, an e-commerce platform, as they transition from a **monolithic** to a **highly scalable and distributed architecture** using AWS services.

By the end of this study group, learners will be able to:\
✅ **Design scalable, event-driven, and microservices architectures**\
✅ **Choose the right AWS managed services for loose coupling**\
✅ **Implement caching, messaging, and workflow orchestration**\
✅ **Optimize applications using containerized and serverless approaches**

***

### **📅 Study Group Agenda**

| **Week**   | **Topic**                                         | **Key AWS Services**                                   |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Week 1** | API Creation & Management                         | Amazon API Gateway, REST API, HTTP APIs                |
| **Week 2** | Microservices & Event-Driven Architectures        | Amazon SQS, Amazon SNS, EventBridge                    |
| **Week 3** | Load Balancing & Scaling Strategies               | Application Load Balancer (ALB), Auto Scaling          |
| **Week 4** | Caching Strategies & Edge Acceleration            | Amazon CloudFront, AWS Global Accelerator, ElastiCache |
| **Week 5** | Serverless & Containerization                     | AWS Lambda, AWS Fargate, ECS, EKS                      |
| **Week 6** | Workflow Orchestration & Multi-Tier Architectures | AWS Step Functions, S3, EBS, RDS Read Replicas         |

***

### **📚 Recommended Study Resources**

✅ **AWS Well-Architected Framework – Scalability & Performance Pillars**\
✅ **Amazon API Gateway Best Practices**\
✅ **AWS Messaging & Event-Driven Architectures**\
✅ **AWS Load Balancing & Auto Scaling Guide**\
✅ **AWS Step Functions & Workflow Orchestration**

***

### **🎯 Final Study Group Summary**

| **Week**   | **Focus Area**                      | **Outcome**                                       |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **Week 1** | API Management & Design             | Build & Secure APIs Using API Gateway             |
| **Week 2** | Event-Driven & Microservices        | Use Amazon SQS, SNS, & EventBridge                |
| **Week 3** | Load Balancing & Scaling            | Implement ALB & Auto Scaling                      |
| **Week 4** | Caching & Edge Acceleration         | Use CloudFront, ElastiCache, & Global Accelerator |
| **Week 5** | Serverless & Containers             | Deploy AWS Lambda, Fargate, ECS, & EKS            |
| **Week 6** | Multi-Tier & Workflow Orchestration | Use AWS Step Functions, RDS Read Replicas         |

***

### **🚀 Next Steps**

Would you like:\
✅ **Terraform scripts for scalable architectures?**\
✅ **Scenario-based quizzes for each study group session?**\
✅ **Instructor-led deep-dive discussions?**