Solution Architecture Review

When this service becomes necessary

• A vendor or internal team has proposed a technical approach and the organisation wants an independent view before committing to it.
• The project is significant enough that an architecture problem discovered in delivery would be expensive to resolve.
• The proposed solution integrates with existing systems and the integration approach has not been independently validated.
• The internal team has a preferred technical direction and the organisation wants an objective assessment of whether it is sound.
• A previous project encountered architecture problems late in delivery and the organisation wants to prevent recurrence.
• The solution involves a new technology, platform, or pattern that the organisation has limited prior experience with.

What Evoltra reviews

• Fitness for purpose: whether the proposed design meets functional and non-functional requirements
• Integration assessment: integration points, mechanisms, data flows, and failure modes
• Security architecture: authentication, authorisation, data protection, and attack surface
• Scalability and performance: whether the design will remain fit at projected load and data volumes
• Maintainability: technology choices, dependency management, and long-term ownership implications
• Standards alignment: consistency with the organisation's agreed technology standards and preferred platforms
• Risk identification: significant risks in the proposed approach with recommended mitigations
• Build versus buy assessment if applicable: whether the proposed approach is the most appropriate option

How the engagement works

1. 1

   Design review

   Review the proposed architecture documentation, technical design, and supporting materials. Identify what has been decided, what assumptions have been made, and what has not yet been resolved.

2. 2

   Structured assessment

   Assess the design against the review dimensions: fitness for purpose, integration, security, scalability, maintainability, and standards alignment. Identify risks and gaps.

3. 3

   Stakeholder discussion

   Discuss findings with the solution architect or project team to validate understanding of the design intent and explore proposed mitigations. Not a design workshop, but a targeted clarification.

4. 4

   Written report

   Deliver a written report with findings graded by severity, recommended actions, and any conditions that should be satisfied before the proposed design proceeds to build.

Who this is for

Project sponsors, technology leaders, and programme managers who need an independent view of a proposed technical design before build investment is committed. Also relevant for organisations where internal architecture capability is limited, where the solution involves unfamiliar technology, or where the project's scale means that a late architecture problem would have significant cost and schedule consequences.