Architecture Principles

Quality Standard

• Each principle states:
  • Why it exists.
  • What decision it constrains.
  • How to verify pass/fail in review.
  • Who approves exceptions.
• Hard constraints are separated from optimization preferences.
• Tradeoffs are explicit: what is intentionally worse and why.
• Re-decision triggers are observable and testable.

Workflow

1. Convert business goals into ranked architecture drivers.
2. Draft principles that constrain real decisions, not slogans.
3. Add measurable review checks and exception handling.
4. Resolve conflicts between principles with explicit priority rules.
5. Publish the principle set and review cadence.

Failure Conditions

• Stop when priorities are contradictory or missing.
• Stop when principles cannot be evaluated objectively.
• Escalate when legal or security constraints conflict with product goals.