Command Event Query Separation, A Framework for Modeling Scalable Services : Prototyping a Bahá’í Local Community Management System Using Event-Centric Architecture

Abstract

Modern software systems face scalability and maintainability challenges when serving diverse, distributed user bases. Command Event Query Separation (CEQS), a novel architectural framework by Simo Roikonen, extends Clean Architecture, Event-Driven Architecture, Domain-Driven Design, and CQRS principles while treating events as first-class architectural citizens. Using Design Science Research methodology, CEQS is validated through designing and prototyping a Bahá’í Local Community Management System (BLCMS). The Bahá’í administrative order's decentralized decision-making and community participation structure provides an ideal validation context, representing the first formal architectural modeling of this system using modern software methodologies. The Kotlin-based BLCMS implementation demonstrates CEQS's effectiveness in handling event driven updates, data consistency, and tailored queries across diverse administrative units. The framework successfully models hierarchical yet participatory governance through event-centric design patterns. Key contributions include: (1) CEQS as a CQRS evolution for distributed architectures, (2) domain driven design processes for event-centric systems, (3) formal Bahá’í administrative order modeling, and (4) a functional prototype demonstrating practical applicability. Initial evaluations indicate improvements in system responsiveness, fault tolerance, and scalability while maintaining developer accessibility. The work concludes with analysis of CEQS's broader organizational applicability and identifies future directions for event-centric system design and sustainable software development.