Comprehensive documentation overhaul with best practices and architectural patterns

[rororowyourboat]

Closes #652

Summary

This PR adds comprehensive, opinionated documentation to guide users on MSML best practices, architectural patterns, and effective usage.

Changes

New Documentation Files

📘 BestPractices.md

Comprehensive guide covering:

• Core Principles: Single responsibility, explicit dependencies, composability
• Component Design: Guidelines for blocks, spaces, state variables, policies, and mechanisms
• Naming Conventions: Consistent patterns for all component types
• Specification Organization: File structure and modular design strategies
• Common Pitfalls: Over-coupling, god blocks, implicit dependencies, leaky abstractions
• Scaling Considerations: Strategies for small, medium, and large systems

🏗️ ArchitecturalPatterns.md

Reusable design patterns including:

• Pipeline Pattern: Sequential data transformations
• Fan-Out/Fan-In Pattern: Parallel processing and aggregation
• State Machine Pattern: Explicit state transitions
• Repository Pattern: Centralized data access
• Observer Pattern: Event-driven notifications
• Strategy Pattern: Interchangeable algorithms
• Adapter Pattern: Interface translation
• Pattern Combinations: Real-world examples
• Anti-Patterns: What to avoid

📖 UsageGuidelines.md

Practical guidance on:

• What MSML is for: Clear scope and purpose
• When to use MSML: Ideal use cases with examples
• When NOT to use MSML: Poor fits and alternatives
• Getting Started: Step-by-step workflow
• Usage Stages: From ideation to maintenance
• Integration Strategies: Spec-first, spec-alongside, spec-after, hybrid
• Success Metrics: How to measure effectiveness

📚 Updated index.md

• Reorganized documentation with clear navigation
• Categorized into Getting Started, Reference, and Examples sections
• Links to all new and existing documentation

Benefits

• Reduced Ambiguity: Prescriptive guidance on how to use MSML
• Faster Onboarding: Clear examples and patterns to follow
• Better Specs: Common pitfalls documented with solutions
• Consistent Usage: Shared vocabulary and patterns across teams
• Informed Decisions: Clear guidance on when MSML fits (and when it doesn't)

Documentation Philosophy

This documentation is intentionally opinionated and prescriptive rather than just descriptive. It:

• Provides clear recommendations, not just options
• Shows both good and bad examples
• Explains the why behind recommendations
• Focuses on practical, real-world usage

Target Audiences

• New Users: Usage Guidelines + Getting Started
• Designers: Best Practices + Architectural Patterns
• Developers: Best Practices + Examples
• Architects: Architectural Patterns + Scaling Considerations
• Stakeholders: Usage Guidelines (when to use MSML)

Related PRs

Builds on the foundation of:

• Set up uv-based package management #657 (uv setup)
• Add CONTRIBUTING.md with comprehensive contribution guidelines #658 (CONTRIBUTING.md)
• Add script-based workflows for reproducible MSML operations #659 (Script-based workflows)
• Add dev container for standardized development environment #660 (Dev container)

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR adds comprehensive, opinionated documentation to guide MSML users on best practices, architectural patterns, and effective usage strategies. The documentation is structured to serve different audiences from newcomers to experienced architects.

Changes:

• Added three new comprehensive documentation guides (BestPractices.md, ArchitecturalPatterns.md, UsageGuidelines.md)
• Reorganized the main documentation index with clear categorization into Getting Started, Reference, and Examples sections
• Provided practical, prescriptive guidance with both good and bad examples throughout

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

File	Description
docs/index.md	Reorganized documentation with clear navigation structure and links to new guides
docs/UsageGuidelines.md	New comprehensive guide on when/how to use MSML, integration strategies, and success metrics
docs/BestPractices.md	New opinionated guide covering core principles, component design, naming conventions, and common pitfalls
docs/ArchitecturalPatterns.md	New guide presenting reusable design patterns including Pipeline, Fan-Out/Fan-In, State Machine, and others

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