Template

Architecture review template

Before a large technical change is built: the problem, the proposed design, the alternatives, and what could go wrong — reviewed by engineers who will not build it.

60 minutesFor Engineering leads, architects and the team proposing a designAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. The problem and the constraints8 min
    • What has to be true for this to be a success?
  2. The proposed design15 min
    • How does data flow through it, start to finish?
  3. The alternatives considered10 min
    • Why not the simpler option?
  4. Failure, scale and security15 min
    • What happens when this part goes down?
    • What does it look like at ten times today's load?
  5. Cost and how it is run7 min
    • Who is woken up when it breaks, and what does it cost each month?
  6. Decision and follow-ups5 min
    • Approved, approved with changes, or come back?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Problem. Search takes 4 seconds for large customers.

Proposal. A separate search service with its own index.

Alternative rejected. Database tuning alone: tested, saves 30%, not enough.

Decision. Approved, on condition the index can be rebuilt in under an hour.

Running it well

Ways to change it

LightweightA written review in the document, and a meeting only if two reviewers disagree.
Security reviewThe same shape, with threats and data access in place of scale.

When to skip it. For a change that can be rolled back in minutes and touches one team's code only.

Questions

What is an architecture review?

A meeting where engineers outside the team review a proposed technical design before it is built.

What should an architecture review cover?

The problem, the design, the alternatives, failure and scale, security, cost and who runs it.

Who should attend an architecture review?

The proposing team, two or three experienced engineers from other teams, and whoever will run it in production.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Change advisory board (CAB) meetingThe regular meeting that approves changes to live systems: what is changing, what could break, how it is undone, and when.Scrum of scrumsSeveral teams working on one product send one person each to line up their work: what is done, what is next, and what one team is about to drop on another.Release planningBefore a release: agree what goes in and what stays out, the order things must land in, the risks to the date, and how you would roll it back.Capacity planningBefore committing to new work: count who is really here, what is already promised, and how much is left — then decide what fits and what does not.Root cause analysisAfter something went wrong: lay out exactly what happened, ask why until you reach causes you can change, and leave with fixes that each have an owner.Risk reviewA regular look at the list of things that could go wrong: which have grown, which are new, and whether the steps meant to stop them are actually happening.Story mapping workshopLay out everything a user does, step by step, across a wall; put the detailed stories under each step; then draw a line for the smallest first release that still works end to end.Technical design reviewBefore building something large, the engineer who wrote the design walks others through it so problems are found on paper, not in production.

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