Methods
Architecture Assessment
An independent review of an existing system: what it can support, where the risks are, and which of its constraints are fixed and which are only long-standing.
Part of Digital Strategy & Discovery
An Architecture Assessment examines a system as it exists and reports on its structure, its limits and the risks it carries. The output is a set of findings to decide on, and any redesign comes afterwards.
What it looks at
How the system is put together, where components are tightly coupled, which dependencies are no longer supported, how it behaves under load, how changes are made and how long they take, and what would happen if a key component failed. It also separates constraints that are fixed from ones that are only long-standing, since teams sometimes design around limits that could have been removed years ago.
Where it fits
Before a modernisation programme, before adding a major capability to an existing platform, when the cost of changes has crept up without an obvious cause, or when the people who built the system have left. It is also useful ahead of due diligence.
Its limits
An assessment can only be as complete as the code, documentation, monitoring data and interviews available. Where those are thin, findings carry more uncertainty, and the report should say so.
How we use it
We rank findings by consequence, show the evidence for each, and set out options with their trade-offs, including leaving the system as it is.
Related
Solution Architecture, Application Modernization, Cloud Migration & Architecture