Architect Laws
The 10 Daily Laws are all equally important and that an architect should be following:
Warning
If you MUST use a decision framework, know & study design patters, and be very forward thinking, otherwise the laws below will not matter ever
1. The Law of Trade-offs
Definition: Every decision has trade-offs—cost vs. performance, flexibility vs. maintainability, security vs. usability. Architects must evaluate and justify choices based on context.
2. The Law of Business Alignment
Definition: Technology serves the business; every architectural decision must align with business objectives to deliver value, efficiency, and scalability.
3. The Law of Simplicity (KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid)
Definition: The best architecture is as simple as possible while keeping in mind of evolution and sunsetting. Avoid unnecessary complexity; each component should have a clear purpose and minimal dependencies.
4. The Law of Change (Everything Evolves)
Definition: Architecture is never static. Systems, requirements, and technologies evolve; architects must design for adaptability and continuous improvement.
5. The Law of Security by Design
Definition: Security is not an afterthought. It must be embedded from the ground up, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability in every decision.
6. The Law of Observability (You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See)
Definition: Systems must be measurable, monitorable, and debuggable—logs, metrics, and traces are non-negotiable for operational excellence.
7. The Law of Automation (Work Smart, Not Hard)
Definition: Anything that can be automated should be. Infrastructure as Code (IaC), CI/CD pipelines, and self-healing mechanisms are essential to scalability and reliability.
8. The Law of Least Privilege (Minimize Risk, Maximize Control)
Definition: Access control should be granular and just enough—no one (or system) should have more permissions than they need to perform their job.
9. The Law of Interoperability & Modularity
Definition: Systems should be loosely coupled and API-first, ensuring seamless integration, extensibility, and technology independence.
10. The Law of Continuous Learning (Evolve or Become Obsolete)
Definition: Technology moves fast. Architects must stay curious, continuously learning new paradigms, patterns, and practices to remain relevant.