1. Architectural Design

Evaluate the overall architectural design for coherence, scalability, and adherence to established architectural patterns and principles.

Consistency in design elements

Scalability to accommodate future requirements

Compliance with architectural standards and best practices

Use of appropriate architectural patterns (e.g., MVC, microservices)

Incorporation of design patterns to address common architectural challenges

2. Performance

Assess the performance characteristics of the architecture to ensure responsiveness, efficiency, and reliability.

Response time for critical operations

Throughput under expected load conditions

Resource utilization (CPU, memory, network)

Identification of potential performance bottlenecks and mitigation strategies

3. Security

Verify the security measures implemented to safeguard sensitive data, protect against unauthorized access, and prevent security breaches.

Authentication mechanisms

Authorization and access control

Data encryption in transit and at rest

Compliance with industry regulations and standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA)

Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing

4. Reliability

Ensure the reliability and fault tolerance of the architecture to minimize downtime and maintain system availability.

Redundancy and failover mechanisms

Error handling and recovery strategies

Monitoring and alerting systems

Disaster recovery plan

5. Scalability

Evaluate the scalability of the architecture to accommodate growth in data volume, user base, and system complexity.

Horizontal and vertical scalability

Load balancing strategies

Elasticity to dynamically scale resources

Performance under stress testing

6. Maintainability

Assess the ease of maintaining and evolving the architecture over time, considering factors such as modularity, documentation, and code maintainability.

Modularity and componentization

Comprehensive documentation

Testability and debugging capabilities

Continuous integration and deployment pipelines

7. Compliance and Governance

Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, internal policies, and governance frameworks governing the architecture.

Adherence to architectural standards and guidelines

Compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks

Alignment with organizational governance policies and procedures

Regular audits and reviews