Aligning architecture in design

What this unit settles

Alignment is the practical question behind the split: does the solution design still realise the architecture design. The annex places alignment inside design, which is earlier than most firms check it. Checking at design review is cheaper than discovering drift at implementation.

What to do in your practice

Add an alignment check to the design review: each architecture decision, the solution element that realises it and the evidence. Where an element realises no decision, ask why it exists. Where a decision has no element, the architecture is not being realised. Run the alignment check at the design review, before any build cost is committed. The same check after build is an audit finding; before build it is a design conversation, and the difference in cost and tone is the reason the annex places alignment inside design.

Who it binds

The architecture practice, as a note. The public preview does not state the annex status, so this page does not claim one.

Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for

Common gaps this page catches

What to prepare before publication

Build the alignment matrix for one design. Add the check to the design review template. Record the orphans and resolve them.