Architecture Governance
Preventive, automated controls rather than review meetings.
6 to work through
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intermediate
A mid-sized company needs architectural consistency without the overhead of a formal governance function. What is the minimum viable arrangement?
2 min answer -
intermediate Multiple choice
An organisation of 120 teams ships several hundred changes a day. Architecture standards exist as a wiki, adherence is inconsistent, and the review board has a six-week queue. One governance investment can be funded this year. Which comes first?
3 min answer -
advanced
An organisation shipping many changes daily needs architectural governance that does not become a bottleneck. What model works?
2 min answer -
advanced
You are asked to restart an enterprise architecture function that was disbanded two years ago after being seen as a blocker. How do you approach the first six months?
2 min answer -
advanced
You inherit an enterprise architecture function that delivery teams route around and executives consider overhead. What do you change?
2 min answer -
advanced
Your organisation has an architecture standard that most teams ignore. Leadership asks you to enforce it. How do you approach this?
2 min answer
3 terms in this topic
Architecture Governance Model
The definition of which architectural decisions require which level of scrutiny, and who holds the authority for each.
conceptGovernance Operating Model
The arrangement of decision rights, review points and automated controls through which architectural intent is maintained across an organisation.
practiceMachine-Checkable Standard
An architecture rule written so that a program can decide whether a change complies, enforced at merge or deploy time, which is the only form of gove…
Neighbouring topics
Enterprise Architecture
General material on architecture at portfolio and estate scale.
EA Domains
Business, application, data and technology architecture as viewpoints.
Application Architecture
The application estate as a designed portfolio rather than an accumulation.
Technology Architecture
Platforms, runtimes and infrastructure standards across the estate.
Capability Maps in EA
The stable frame for hanging investment, ownership and health off.
Application Portfolio Management
Inventory, ownership, cost and health for every application.
Application Rationalisation
Retire, consolidate, replatform — and why retirement is under-applied.
Technology Standards
Guidance that teams follow because it helps, not because it is mandated.
Technology Radar
Adopt, trial, assess and hold — with movement, dates and owners.
Reference Architectures
Pre-approved templates for recurring solution shapes.
Architecture Review Boards
Thresholds, early engagement and a real route to accept deviation.
Enterprise Integration
Estate-wide integration strategy, standards and shared infrastructure.
TOGAF
The ADM as a checklist, tailored rather than followed literally.
EA Frameworks
Zachman, FEAF and others — vocabulary rather than method.
Architecture Roadmaps
Sequencing change across an estate with dependencies and funding.
Paved Roads
Making the supported path the easiest path, with a way to leave it.
Platform Teams
Reducing other teams' cognitive load, measured by adoption.
InnerSource
Open-source collaboration practices applied inside an organisation.
EA Metrics
Measuring whether architecture work changed anything.