Deborah Kurata: Angular Architecture

Deborah Kurata's core belief: Well-organized code is maintainable code. Architecture decisions made early compound over the life of a project.

The Foundational Principle

"Structure your Angular application so that you can locate code quickly, identify what the code does at a glance, keep the flattest structure possible, and stay DRY."

The LIFT principle:

•Locate code quickly
•Identify code at a glance
•Flattest structure possible
•Try to stay DRY

Core Principles

1. Feature Module Organization

Organize by feature, not by type.

Not this (organize by type):

code

src/app/
├── components/
│   ├── user-list.component.ts
│   ├── product-list.component.ts
│   └── order-list.component.ts
├── services/
│   ├── user.service.ts
│   ├── product.service.ts
│   └── order.service.ts
└── models/
    ├── user.model.ts
    ├── product.model.ts
    └── order.model.ts

This (organize by feature):

code

src/app/
├── users/
│   ├── user-list.component.ts
│   ├── user-detail.component.ts
│   ├── user.service.ts
│   ├── user.model.ts
│   └── users.module.ts
├── products/
│   ├── product-list.component.ts
│   ├── product.service.ts
│   └── products.module.ts
└── shared/
    ├── components/
    ├── pipes/
    └── shared.module.ts

2. Module Types and Responsibilities

Five types of modules:

Module Type	Purpose	Loads
Root (App)	Bootstrap	Once at startup
Feature	Business feature	Lazy loaded
Shared	Reusable components	Imported by features
Core	Singleton services	Once in AppModule
Routing	Route configuration	With parent module

typescript

// Core module - singleton services, guards
@NgModule({
  providers: [AuthService, LoggingService]
})
export class CoreModule {
  constructor(@Optional() @SkipSelf() parent: CoreModule) {
    if (parent) {
      throw new Error('CoreModule already loaded. Import only in AppModule.');
    }
  }
}

// Shared module - reusable, no singletons
@NgModule({
  declarations: [SpinnerComponent, TruncatePipe],
  exports: [SpinnerComponent, TruncatePipe, CommonModule]
})
export class SharedModule {}

3. Smart vs Presentational Components

Clear separation of concerns.

code

CONTAINER (Smart)              PRESENTATIONAL (Dumb)
─────────────────              ─────────────────────
user-shell.component           user-list.component
                               user-detail.component
                               user-form.component

Responsibilities:              Responsibilities:
- Fetch data                   - Display data
- Handle state                 - Emit events
- Coordinate children          - No service injection
- Route handling               - Pure @Input/@Output

Naming convention:

code

feature/
├── feature-shell.component.ts      # Smart container
├── feature-list.component.ts       # Presentational
├── feature-detail.component.ts     # Presentational
├── feature-edit.component.ts       # Presentational
└── feature.service.ts

4. Barrel Files (index.ts)

Export public API, hide internals.

typescript

// users/index.ts
export * from './users.module';
export * from './user.model';
export * from './user.service';
// Don't export internal components

// Importing from outside the feature:
import { UserService, User } from '@app/users';

5. Path Aliases

Use TypeScript path aliases for clean imports.

tsconfig.json:

json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "paths": {
      "@app/*": ["src/app/*"],
      "@core/*": ["src/app/core/*"],
      "@shared/*": ["src/app/shared/*"],
      "@env/*": ["src/environments/*"]
    }
  }
}

Usage:

typescript

// Instead of: import { UserService } from '../../../core/services/user.service';
import { UserService } from '@core/services/user.service';

6. State Management Patterns

Choose complexity appropriate to your app.

code

COMPLEXITY LEVEL           SOLUTION
────────────────           ────────
Simple                     Services + BehaviorSubject
Medium                     Component Store (@ngrx/component-store)
Complex                    Global Store (@ngrx/store)

Simple state (service-based):

typescript

@Injectable({ providedIn: 'root' })
export class UserStateService {
  private usersSubject = new BehaviorSubject<User[]>([]);
  users$ = this.usersSubject.asObservable();

  setUsers(users: User[]) {
    this.usersSubject.next(users);
  }
}

Medium state (component store):

typescript

interface UserState {
  users: User[];
  loading: boolean;
}

@Injectable()
export class UserStore extends ComponentStore<UserState> {
  readonly users$ = this.select(state => state.users);
  readonly loading$ = this.select(state => state.loading);

  readonly loadUsers = this.effect<void>(trigger$ =>
    trigger$.pipe(
      tap(() => this.patchState({ loading: true })),
      switchMap(() => this.userService.getAll().pipe(
        tapResponse(
          users => this.patchState({ users, loading: false }),
          error => this.patchState({ loading: false })
        )
      ))
    )
  );
}

7. Route Organization

One routing module per feature, lazy loaded.

typescript

// app-routing.module.ts
const routes: Routes = [
  { path: '', redirectTo: 'home', pathMatch: 'full' },
  { path: 'home', component: HomeComponent },
  {
    path: 'users',
    loadChildren: () => import('./users/users.module').then(m => m.UsersModule)
  },
  {
    path: 'products',
    loadChildren: () => import('./products/products.module').then(m => m.ProductsModule)
  },
  { path: '**', component: PageNotFoundComponent }
];

// users/users-routing.module.ts
const routes: Routes = [
  {
    path: '',
    component: UserShellComponent,
    children: [
      { path: '', component: UserListComponent },
      { path: ':id', component: UserDetailComponent },
      { path: ':id/edit', component: UserEditComponent }
    ]
  }
];

8. Service Design Patterns

Services should be focused and testable.

typescript

// Data service - HTTP operations
@Injectable({ providedIn: 'root' })
export class UserDataService {
  private url = '/api/users';

  constructor(private http: HttpClient) {}

  getAll(): Observable<User[]> {
    return this.http.get<User[]>(this.url);
  }

  getById(id: number): Observable<User> {
    return this.http.get<User>(`${this.url}/${id}`);
  }
}

// Facade service - coordinates multiple data services
@Injectable({ providedIn: 'root' })
export class UserFacadeService {
  constructor(
    private userData: UserDataService,
    private userState: UserStateService
  ) {}

  loadUsers() {
    this.userData.getAll().subscribe(users => {
      this.userState.setUsers(users);
    });
  }
}

9. Interface Segregation

Small, focused interfaces over large ones.

typescript

// Not this - one big interface
interface User {
  id: number;
  name: string;
  email: string;
  address: Address;
  orders: Order[];
  preferences: Preferences;
  // ... 20 more properties
}

// This - focused interfaces
interface UserBasic {
  id: number;
  name: string;
  email: string;
}

interface UserWithAddress extends UserBasic {
  address: Address;
}

interface UserWithOrders extends UserBasic {
  orders: Order[];
}

10. Consistent Naming Conventions

code

ELEMENT                    NAMING CONVENTION
───────                    ─────────────────
Feature module             users.module.ts
Routing module             users-routing.module.ts
Component                  user-list.component.ts
Service                    user.service.ts
Directive                  highlight.directive.ts
Pipe                       truncate.pipe.ts
Guard                      auth.guard.ts
Resolver                   user.resolver.ts
Interceptor                logging.interceptor.ts
Model/Interface            user.model.ts

The Kurata Test

Before committing architecture decisions, ask:

•Can I locate this code quickly? By feature, not by type?
•Can I identify what this does at a glance? Clear naming?
•Is the structure as flat as possible? No unnecessary nesting?
•Am I repeating myself? Should this be in SharedModule?
•Is this module focused? One responsibility?
•Is state management appropriate? Not over-engineered?

When Reviewing Code

Apply these checks:

• Features organized in feature modules
• Core services in CoreModule (imported once)
• Shared components in SharedModule
• Smart/presentational component separation
• Lazy loading for feature modules
• Path aliases for clean imports
• Barrel files for public API
• Consistent naming conventions
• Appropriate state management complexity

When NOT to Use This Skill

Use a different skill when:

•Designing DI and testability → Use angular-core
•Optimizing performance → Use angular-perf
•Working with RxJS → Use rxjs
•Applying design patterns → Use design-patterns

Kurata is the Angular organization skill—use it for project structure, module design, and architecture patterns.

Sources

•Kurata, "Angular Architecture: Best Practices" (Pluralsight)
•Kurata, "RxJS and Reactive Forms in Angular" (Pluralsight)
•Angular Style Guide (influenced by Kurata's work)
•Kurata's conference talks and blog posts

"Good architecture is not about choosing the right technology—it's about organizing code so your team can work effectively." — Deborah Kurata