The AWS Well-Architected Framework is a set of questions and best practices for judging how a workload is designed and run. Its value is in making hidden trade-offs visible while they are still cheap to fix.
Six pillars
- Operational excellence: running, monitoring and improving systems.
- Security: protecting data, systems and assets.
- Reliability: recovering from failure and meeting demand.
- Performance efficiency: using resources efficiently as needs change.
- Cost optimisation: avoiding unnecessary spending.
- Sustainability: minimising the environmental impact of running workloads.
AWS also publishes lenses that apply the framework to specific domains, including generative AI.
What a review looks like
A review is a structured conversation between engineers and the people who run a workload. It works through questions for each pillar, records what is in place, and identifies risks. The output is a prioritised list of improvements, not a pass or fail.
The best reviews happen at three moments: before a design is finalised, before go-live, and periodically afterwards as workloads and AWS services change.
Getting value from it
Review real workloads, not diagrams. Bring both the builders and the operators into the room. Decide up front who will own each improvement, and put them on a roadmap. Treat the pillars as trade-offs: a design that maximises one pillar usually costs something in another, and the review helps make that choice deliberately.
How we approach it
CloudStraight is a member of the AWS Well-Architected Partner Program. We offer AWS Well-Architected Reviews of individual workloads, and use them as a starting point for cloud strategy and architecture work and as a regular check in managed operations.