Solution Architecture Practice

Comprehensive guide to software architecture frameworks, patterns, and best practices

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Standards & Compliance

Overview

Enterprise architecture standards and compliance frameworks that guide all architecture decisions. This document defines non-functional requirements, design standards, and compliance obligations across the organization.

Architecture Standards

Scalability Standards

Minimum Requirements:

  • Systems must scale horizontally (add more instances)
  • No hard-coded limits on number of concurrent users
  • Database must support partitioning for >10GB datasets
  • API must handle 2x expected peak traffic

Design Targets:

  • Response time p99 < 500ms for web APIs
  • Throughput: minimum 1,000 requests/second per instance
  • Memory efficiency: < 500MB per service container

Monitoring:

  • Track current vs maximum capacity
  • Alert when >70% capacity utilization
  • Capacity plan quarterly

Reliability Standards

Availability Requirements:

Service Type SLA Target Max Downtime/Year
Mission-critical 99.99% 52 minutes
High-priority 99.9% 8.7 hours
Standard 99% 87 hours
Non-critical 95% 18 days

Resilience Patterns:

  • Implement circuit breakers for external calls
  • Retry logic with exponential backoff
  • Bulkhead isolation for critical paths
  • Graceful degradation (fail open, not closed)

Backup & Recovery:

  • RTO (Recovery Time Objective): < 1 hour
  • RPO (Recovery Point Objective): < 15 minutes
  • Test recovery procedures quarterly
  • Maintain offsite backups

Security Standards

Authentication:

  • Multi-factor authentication (MFA) for admin/privileged access
  • OAuth 2.0/OIDC for user authentication
  • Service-to-service: mutual TLS (mTLS)
  • Token expiration: 1 hour for web, 30 days for refresh

Encryption:

  • TLS 1.2+ for all data in transit
  • AES-256 for data at rest
  • Database column-level encryption for sensitive data
  • Key rotation: annually or on compromise

Access Control:

  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) minimum
  • Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) preferred
  • Principle of least privilege
  • Regular access reviews (quarterly)

Data Protection:

  • PII: encryption + masking in non-prod
  • GDPR compliance: right to erasure implemented
  • Data classification: Public, Internal, Confidential, Restricted
  • Data residency: respect regional requirements

Performance Standards

API Response Times:

Percentile Target Acceptable
p50 (median) 100ms 200ms
p95 200ms 500ms
p99 500ms 1000ms

Database Query Performance:

  • Simple queries (< 1M rows): < 100ms
  • Aggregate queries: < 500ms
  • Full table scans: unacceptable

Caching Strategy:

  • Cache-aside or write-through pattern
  • Cache hit ratio > 80% for read-heavy services
  • Cache TTL: 1-24 hours depending on data freshness

Data Quality Standards

Data Accuracy:

  • Daily automated data validation checks
  • < 0.1% error rate acceptable
  • Root cause analysis for >100 records in error

Data Completeness:

  • Required fields: must be populated
  • Nullability: explicit in schema
  • Default values: documented

Data Timeliness:

  • Real-time analytics: < 5 minute delay
  • Daily batch: must complete before 6 AM
  • SLA for data availability: match application SLA

Compliance Frameworks

PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry)

Applicability: Any system handling payment card data

Key Requirements:

  • Data segregation: card data isolated from other systems
  • Encryption: all card data encrypted at rest
  • Access logging: all access to card data logged
  • Regular security testing: quarterly penetration tests
  • Strong authentication: MFA for admin access
  • Network segmentation: card data on isolated network

Implementation Checklist:

  • Encrypt cardholder data
  • Restrict physical access to systems
  • Use strong access controls (not default passwords)
  • Restrict access to data (need-to-know)
  • Regular vulnerability scanning
  • Maintain security policy
  • Regular security awareness training
  • Quarterly penetration testing

Certification: Level depends on transaction volume

  • Level 1 (>6M txn/year): On-site audit required
  • Level 2-4: Self-assessment + ASV scan

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

Applicability: Any system handling EU resident data

Key Requirements:

  • Legal basis: Lawful processing documented
  • Consent: Explicit, informed, freely given
  • Right to access: User can request copy of data
  • Right to erasure: “Right to be forgotten”
  • Right to portability: Export data in standard format
  • Data minimization: Collect only necessary data
  • Retention: Delete when purpose fulfilled
  • Privacy by design: Privacy in all systems

Implementation:

Data Processing Checklist:
├─ Document legal basis for each processing
├─ Obtain explicit consent (where required)
├─ Implement data access requests (30-day response)
├─ Implement data deletion (no trace after period)
├─ Data portability: export in standard format
├─ Breach notification: within 72 hours
├─ DPA (Data Protection Assessment) for risky processing
└─ Document everything in Data Processing Register

Penalties: Up to €20M or 4% of annual revenue

HIPAA (Healthcare)

Applicability: Systems handling protected health information (PHI)

Key Requirements:

  • Encryption: All PHI encrypted at rest and in transit
  • Access controls: Role-based, with audit logging
  • Audit trails: 6-year retention
  • Business Associate Agreements: Required with vendors
  • Breach notification: 60-day notification window
  • Minimum necessary: Only access/use necessary PHI

Implementation:

  • Dedicated HIPAA-compliant infrastructure
  • Encryption with key management (HSM)
  • Annual penetration testing
  • Risk assessment and mitigation plan
  • Workforce security training
  • Incident response procedures

SOC 2 Type II

Applicability: SaaS platforms serving enterprise customers

Trust Service Criteria:

  1. Security: Data protected from unauthorized access
  2. Availability: System available for operation as committed
  3. Processing Integrity: System processes, produces, maintains accurate data
  4. Confidentiality: Information not disclosed to unauthorized parties
  5. Privacy: Personal information handled per privacy policy

Implementation:

  • Implement controls for each criterion
  • Maintain audit logs (12+ months)
  • Document procedures
  • Annual audit by qualified auditor
  • Audit report provided to customers

Timeline: First audit covers 6+ months of operation

FedRAMP (Government)

Applicability: Systems serving U.S. federal government agencies

Levels:

  • Low: Administrative, non-federal
  • Moderate: System includes security controls
  • High: Mission-critical with strong controls

Key Requirements:

  • NIST SP 800-53 security controls
  • Continuous monitoring
  • Annual authorization assessment
  • Incident response procedures

Standards Governance

Architecture Review Board (ARB)

Authority:

  • Approve major architectural decisions
  • Define and enforce standards
  • Technology selection decisions
  • Resolve architectural conflicts

Standards Review Process:

  1. Proposal: Document proposed standard
  2. ARB Review: 1-week review period
  3. Community Feedback: 5-day feedback window
  4. Approval: Unanimous or majority vote
  5. Publication: Add to standards wiki
  6. Enforcement: Begin auditing compliance

Standards Compliance Audit

Annual Audit:

  • Sample 10% of active systems
  • Verify compliance with all standards
  • Document findings and remediation plan
  • Report to leadership

Audit Criteria:

  • Scalability standards met
  • Reliability/SLA documented
  • Security standards implemented
  • Performance targets verified
  • Data quality validation
  • Compliance frameworks applied

Remediation:

  • Critical: Fix within 1 month
  • Major: Fix within 3 months
  • Minor: Fix within 6 months

Technology Standards

Approved Technologies:

Category Standard Alternatives
Async Messaging Kafka RabbitMQ, AWS SQS
Distributed Cache Redis Memcached
Service Mesh Istio Linkerd, Consul
Monitoring Prometheus Datadog, New Relic
Logging ELK Stack Splunk, Sumo Logic
Container Orchestration Kubernetes ECS, Swarm

Selection Criteria:

  • Open source preferred (lower TCO)
  • Active community support required
  • Security: regular updates, responsiveness
  • Performance: benchmarked against alternatives
  • Operational: company expertise available

Policy Enforcement

Automated Compliance

CI/CD Gate:

Code Push
  ├─ Lint (code quality)
  ├─ Security scan (SAST)
  ├─ Dependency check (vulnerable libraries)
  ├─ Container scan (DAST)
  └─ Only pass → merge to main

Infrastructure Scanning:

  • Weekly vulnerability scans
  • Network policy validation
  • Configuration audit
  • Cost anomaly detection

Non-Compliance Response

Level 1 - Warning (informational)

  • Minor deviations from standards
  • Low risk
  • Documented, scheduled for remediation
  • 30-day remediation deadline

Level 2 - Violation (corrective action)

  • Significant deviation
  • Medium/high risk
  • Escalated to team lead
  • 2-week remediation deadline

Level 3 - Critical (forced remediation)

  • Critical risk
  • System taken offline if necessary
  • Immediate action required
  • Emergency funding approved