running-an-architectural-assessment

Phase 2 (Research) deep-dive playbook for an initiative shepherd. Deliverable: an Architectural Assessment — a Confluence page in the EN-space assessments folder that captures the refined problem statement, current state, 2–4 evaluated solution options, and a recommendation with rationale. Time budget: 3–5 weeks, 40–80 hours of shepherd time. Splits into Part A (~weeks 1–2) understanding the problem, Part B (~weeks 3–5) finding the right direction.

Part A: Understanding the Problem (~Weeks 1–2)

Stakeholder Interviews

Interview 3–5 people affected by or knowledgeable about the problem. Cast wider when the initiative spans many teams or hits operational systems; cast narrower when it's a clear technical question.

Who to talk to:

• Tech leads on the teams whose codebases will change.
• Engineers who have hit the problem repeatedly and have working models of it (even if not the tech lead).
• SRE, BRE, DbOps, AppSec, or QA leads when the problem touches their domain.
• Anyone who attempted a related approach before — even if it failed. Especially if it failed.

What to ask: