Microservices vs monolith: how do you choose the right architecture?

A **monolith** is simpler to build, test, and deploy early. **Microservices** can scale teams and parts of a system independently. **Choose microservices when:** clear domain boundaries exist, teams need independent deployments, and you can invest in observability and platform tooling. **Interview tip:** emphasize that microservices add operational complexity (distributed tracing, deployments, data consistency).