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Architecture

Architecture is Accountable Throughout the Whole SDLC

Statement

Architecture is Accountable Throughout the Whole SDLC

What this means in practice

Architectural responsibility does not end at design approval. Architects remain engaged through delivery and into production, supporting teams as decisions evolve and ensuring original intent is preserved or consciously adapted based on real-world conditions. Architecture is continuously validated against the running system, not just the initial design.

Why this matters

When architectural accountability spans the full lifecycle, intent is preserved and systems remain coherent over time. Without this, architectural intent erodes—decisions are revisited inconsistently, live systems diverge from design, and accountability becomes unclear. This results in increased technical debt, instability, and reduced trust in architecture.

Practices that meet this principle

  • Architects participate in sprint reviews, retrospectives, and production readiness assessments

  • Architecture decisions are revisited during delivery when new information emerges

  • Post-deployment reviews compare running systems against original architectural intent

  • Architects are involved in incident reviews and operational feedback loops

  • Architectural fitness functions or automated checks validate system properties in production

Validation

A project meets this principle when:

  • Architects are actively engaged beyond the design phase through to production

  • Architecture decisions are traceable from design through to the live system

  • OR:

  • Divergence from original intent is documented and consciously agreed

Scoring Guide

  • Score −1 — Disagreement / Rejected: The team acknowledges this principle is applicable but has explicitly decided not to follow it for this product. A rationale and decision record exist explaining why lifecycle architectural accountability is not adopted.

  • Score 0 — Not doing: No architectural involvement beyond initial design. Architects hand off and move on; no traceability or lifecycle engagement exists.

  • Score 1 — Planned: The team has committed work to introduce architectural accountability throughout the SDLC. An owner and target date exist for establishing lifecycle checkpoints and traceability. The plan is tracked.

  • Score 2 — Adopted for new work: Formal architecture review checkpoints exist for all new work. Decisions are traceable from design through to the live system. Divergence from original intent is documented. Architects attend sprint reviews or readiness assessments for new deliveries. Any exceptions are explicit and reviewed.

  • Score 3 — Enforced for new work + migration plan: Lifecycle architectural accountability is systematically enforced for all new work through process or tooling (e.g. mandatory review checkpoints, traceability tooling). A tracked migration plan exists to extend lifecycle engagement to legacy and in-flight work.

  • Score 4 — Fully adhered: Full lifecycle engagement across all work including legacy and maintenance. Architects participate in incident reviews and operational feedback loops. Fitness functions or automated checks validate architectural properties in production. Post-deployment reviews are routine and feed back into design. Remaining gaps are minimal, known, and time-bound.