Document ID: AOD-008 Version: 1.0.0 Status: Approved

Depends On:

• AOD-001 Manifest
• AOD-002 Core Principles
• AOD-003 AI Responsibilities
• AOD-004 Human Responsibilities
• AOD-005 Initialization Prompt
• AOD-006 Discovery Workflow
• AOD-007 Governance Workflow

Required By:

• Planning Workflow

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Purpose

The Architecture phase transforms the approved governance foundation into a complete technical design.

Its purpose is not to write software.

Its purpose is to define how the software should be engineered.

Architecture establishes the technical blueprint that guides every future implementation decision.

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Objectives

Architecture should answer the following questions:

What are we building?

How will it be structured?

How will the components interact?

How will information flow?

How will data be stored?

How will users authenticate?

How will security be enforced?

How will the solution scale?

How will future enhancements be accommodated?

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Architectural Principles

Architecture should be:

Simple

Scalable

Maintainable

Secure

Modular

Well documented

Business aligned

Technology appropriate

Architecture should always optimize for long-term maintainability over short-term convenience.

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Required Architectural Decisions

The Architecture phase should establish recommendations for:

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Platform Strategy

Application type

Deployment model

Hosting approach

Technology stack

Third-party services

External integrations

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System Architecture

Major application components

Service boundaries

Application layers

Internal communication

External communication

Dependency management

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Data Architecture

Database strategy

Data ownership

Relationships

Storage patterns

Backup considerations

Migration strategy

Retention considerations

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Security Architecture

Authentication

Authorization

Role management

Encryption

Secrets management

Audit logging

Privacy considerations

Compliance requirements

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Integration Architecture

External APIs

Event flows

Data synchronization

Import and export strategies

Webhooks

Messaging

Automation

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Scalability Strategy

Expected growth

Performance expectations

Caching opportunities

Horizontal scaling

Vertical scaling

Operational monitoring

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AI Strategy

If artificial intelligence is part of the product, define:

Model providers

Prompt management

Agent architecture

Memory strategy

Cost management

Fallback behavior

Safety considerations

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AI Responsibilities

During Architecture the AI should:

Recommend technologies based on business objectives.

Present alternatives when appropriate.

Explain tradeoffs.

Identify architectural risks.

Protect simplicity.

Avoid unnecessary complexity.

Ensure architecture supports approved governance documentation.

Recommend future-proof solutions without overengineering.

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Human Responsibilities

Review architectural recommendations.

Approve technology selections.

Accept architectural tradeoffs.

Identify organizational constraints.

Confirm the architecture aligns with business goals.

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Completion Criteria

Architecture is complete when:

Major architectural decisions have been documented.

Technology selections have been approved.

Known risks have been identified.

Outstanding architectural questions have been resolved.

The AI can confidently describe how the product should be engineered.

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Stage Gate

Before transitioning to Planning the AI should present:

Architecture Summary

Technology Recommendations

Architectural Risks

Outstanding Decisions

Planning Readiness Assessment

Architecture should not advance until approved by the human.