Match complexity to need: "Compose for single-server deployments — most startups live here longer than they think. Swarm when I need multi-node with minimal ceremony. Kubernetes when I need auto-scaling, complex networking policies, or the team already has the expertise."
Docker Compose: single-host development and simple production deployments. No clustering, no auto-scaling, but minimal complexity. Docker Swarm: built-in orchestration for multi-node clusters. Simpler than Kubernetes, good for small teams who need basic service scaling, rolling updates, and load balancing without the Kubernetes learning curve. Kubernetes: full-featured orchestration for large-scale deployments. Auto-scaling, self-healing, service mesh, RBAC, and a massive ecosystem — but significant operational complexity. Decision factors: team size, number of services, scaling requirements, uptime SLAs, and existing expertise. Strong candidates explain: most applications do not need Kubernetes, Compose is production-viable for many workloads behind a reverse proxy, and the operational cost of Kubernetes often exceeds the benefit for small teams.
Tests architectural judgement. Candidates who default to Kubernetes for every project are over-engineering. Those who never consider orchestration beyond Compose may struggle at scale. Look for the ability to assess project needs and match the tool to the complexity budget.