ICT-Governance-Framework-Application

Architecture Design Document: ICT Governance Framework

Document Control Information

Document Information  
Document Title Architecture Design Document
Project Name ICT Governance Framework
Document Version 1.0
Document Status Draft
Created Date August 7, 2025
Last Updated August 7, 2025
Document Owner CBA Consult
Prepared By ICT Governance Team
Related Documents Project Charter, Requirements Specification, Scope Management Plan

Executive Summary

This Architecture Design Document provides the comprehensive technical blueprint for the ICT Governance Framework, supporting the project objectives outlined in the Project Charter dated August 7, 2025. The architecture aligns with the project’s budget of $725,000 over 3 years and timeline spanning August 2025 to September 2026, with expected ROI of 72% and payback period of 18 months.

The solution architecture addresses all functional and non-functional requirements specified in the Requirements Specification v1.0, supporting governance enforcement, compliance monitoring, and automated remediation across the organization’s ICT infrastructure. This design ensures scalability to 50,000 resources, 99.9% availability, and compliance with ISO/IEC 27001, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and GDPR requirements.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Business Context and Architecture Drivers
  3. Architecture Overview
  4. System Architecture
  5. Component Architecture
  6. Data Architecture
  7. Security Architecture
  8. Integration Architecture
  9. Deployment Architecture
  10. Performance Architecture
  11. Quality Attributes
  12. Architecture Decisions
  13. Risk Considerations
  14. Implementation Roadmap
  15. Appendices

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose

This Architecture Design Document defines the technical architecture for the ICT Governance Framework, providing detailed guidance for system design, implementation, and deployment. It serves as the authoritative reference for all technical stakeholders and supports the project’s success criteria of achieving 100% compliance for new Azure resources and 95% reduction in manual compliance tasks.

1.2 Scope

This document covers the architectural design for all components within the project scope as defined in the Scope Management Plan v1.0:

1.3 Intended Audience

Stakeholder Group Usage
Technical Architects Detailed architecture review and validation
Development Teams Implementation guidance and component specifications
Infrastructure Teams Deployment and operations planning
Security Teams Security architecture review and compliance validation
Project Sponsors High-level architecture understanding and investment alignment
Quality Assurance Architecture testing and validation planning

1.4 Architecture Principles

The architecture is built upon these fundamental principles:

  1. Cloud-First: Leverage Azure PaaS services for operational efficiency and scalability
  2. Microservices-Based: Modular design for maintainability and independent scaling
  3. API-Centric: RESTful APIs for all integrations and user interactions
  4. Security by Design: Zero-trust security model with defense in depth
  5. Event-Driven: Asynchronous processing for performance and resilience
  6. Infrastructure as Code: Declarative infrastructure management and governance
  7. Observability-First: Comprehensive monitoring, logging, and analytics

2. Business Context and Architecture Drivers

2.1 Business Objectives Alignment

The architecture directly supports the project objectives from the Project Charter:

Business Objective Architecture Enablement
Strategic IT-Business Alignment Governance framework with business unit mapping
Risk Management Enhancement Automated risk assessment and mitigation workflows
Resource Optimization (15% cost reduction) Cost analytics and optimization recommendations
Performance Improvement (20% service quality increase) Real-time monitoring and performance dashboards
Regulatory Compliance (100% compliance target) Automated compliance checking and evidence collection
Decision-Making Improvement (40% faster decisions) Executive dashboards and decision support tools

2.2 Stakeholder Requirements Integration

Architecture addresses stakeholder needs identified in the Stakeholder Register:

2.3 Key Architecture Drivers

2.3.1 Functional Drivers

2.3.2 Quality Attribute Drivers

2.3.3 Technical Constraints

3. Architecture Overview

3.1 High-Level Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                          USER INTERFACES                        │
├─────────────┬─────────────┬─────────────┬─────────────────────┤
│  Executive  │ Compliance  │ Operations  │    Developer        │
│ Dashboards  │  Console    │   Portal    │     Portal          │
└─────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────────────┘
                                │
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         API GATEWAY                              │
│        Authentication │ Authorization │ Rate Limiting           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      MICROSERVICES LAYER                        │
├──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬─────────────────────┤
│   Policy     │ Compliance   │ Remediation  │    Resource         │
│ Management   │  Monitoring  │   Engine     │   Management        │
├──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────┤
│  Reporting   │  Audit &     │ Notification │  Integration        │
│   Engine     │   Logging    │   Service    │    Service          │
└──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴─────────────────────┘
                                │
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        EVENT MESH                               │
│           Service Bus │ Event Grid │ Event Hubs                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                       DATA LAYER                                │
├──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬─────────────────────┤
│  Azure SQL   │   Cosmos DB  │   Azure Data │    Blob Storage     │
│ (Governance) │ (Policies)   │  Explorer    │   (Reports/Logs)    │
│              │              │ (Metrics)    │                     │
└──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴─────────────────────┘
                                │
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   EXTERNAL INTEGRATIONS                         │
├──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬─────────────────────┤
│    Azure     │     Azure    │     Azure    │      Identity       │
│ Resource Mgr │    Policy    │   Monitor    │     Providers       │
├──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────┤
│    ITSM      │     Cost     │  Notification│     CI/CD           │
│   Systems    │ Management   │   Systems    │    Pipelines        │
└──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴─────────────────────┘

3.2 Architecture Patterns

3.2.1 Domain-Driven Design

The system is organized around governance domains:

3.2.2 Event-Driven Architecture

Asynchronous communication through events:

3.2.3 CQRS (Command Query Responsibility Segregation)

Separation of read and write operations:

4. System Architecture

4.1 Logical Architecture

4.1.1 Presentation Layer

4.1.2 Application Services Layer

Core microservices implementing business logic:

Service Responsibility SLA Resources
Policy Management Service CRUD operations for governance policies 99.9% 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM
Compliance Monitoring Service Continuous resource compliance assessment 99.9% 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM
Remediation Engine Automated and workflow-based remediation 99.5% 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM
Resource Management Service Resource inventory and metadata management 99.9% 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM
Reporting Engine Dashboard data and report generation 99.5% 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM
Audit Service Audit logging and evidence collection 99.99% 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM
Notification Service Multi-channel notification delivery 99.5% 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM
Integration Service External system integration management 99.9% 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM

4.1.3 Infrastructure Services Layer

Supporting services for operational requirements:

4.2 Deployment Architecture

4.2.1 Multi-Tier Deployment

Internet
    │
┌───▼────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
│ Azure  │────▶│     DMZ      │────▶│   Private    │
│  CDN   │     │   Subnet     │     │   Subnet     │
└────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘
    │                 │                     │
    │          ┌──────▼──────┐      ┌──────▼──────┐
    │          │ Application │      │ Application │
    │          │   Gateway   │      │  Services   │
    │          └─────────────┘      └─────────────┘
    │                                      │
    │                               ┌─────▼─────┐
    │                               │   Data    │
    │                               │  Storage  │
    │                               └───────────┘

4.2.2 Azure Services Mapping

Layer Azure Services
CDN/WAF Azure CDN, Azure Front Door, Web Application Firewall
Load Balancing Azure Load Balancer, Application Gateway
Compute Azure App Service, Azure Functions, Azure Container Instances
Messaging Azure Service Bus, Event Grid, Event Hubs
Data Storage Azure SQL Database, Cosmos DB, Azure Data Explorer, Blob Storage
Security Azure Key Vault, Azure Active Directory, Azure Security Center
Monitoring Azure Monitor, Application Insights, Log Analytics
Networking Virtual Network, Network Security Groups, Azure Bastion

4.3 Scalability Architecture

4.3.1 Horizontal Scaling Strategy

4.3.2 Performance Optimization

5. Component Architecture

5.1 Policy Management Service

5.1.1 Component Structure

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│      Policy Management API      │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│   Policy Lifecycle Manager     │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│    Policy Validation Engine    │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│     Policy Template Engine     │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│      Policy Repository         │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

5.1.2 Functional Components

Component Responsibility Technology Performance Requirements
Policy Lifecycle Manager Version control, approval workflow .NET 8, Entity Framework Process 100 policy changes/hour
Policy Validation Engine Syntax validation, conflict detection Azure Functions, C# Validate policy in <5 seconds
Policy Template Engine Template generation, customization Razor Templates, JSON Schema Generate template in <2 seconds
Policy Repository Policy storage, versioning Azure SQL Database, Git integration Support 10,000 policies

5.1.3 Data Model

{
  "Policy": {
    "id": "uuid",
    "name": "string",
    "version": "semantic_version", 
    "status": "draft|active|deprecated",
    "category": "security|compliance|cost|operations",
    "scope": ["subscription", "resource_group", "resource"],
    "definition": "json_policy_definition",
    "metadata": {
      "created_by": "string",
      "created_date": "datetime",
      "approved_by": "string",
      "approval_date": "datetime",
      "effective_date": "datetime",
      "expiry_date": "datetime"
    }
  }
}

5.2 Compliance Monitoring Service

5.2.1 Component Structure

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│    Compliance Monitoring API    │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│      Evaluation Scheduler       │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│     Compliance Calculator       │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│        Alert Manager            │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│      Evidence Collector         │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

5.2.2 Evaluation Engine

5.2.3 Compliance Scoring Algorithm

Compliance Score = (Compliant Resources / Total Resources) * 100

Weighted Score = Σ(Policy Weight × Compliance Score) / Σ(Policy Weight)

Risk-Adjusted Score = Compliance Score × (1 - Risk Factor)

5.3 Remediation Engine

5.3.1 Remediation Strategies

Strategy Use Case Automation Level Approval Required
Automatic Configuration drift, missing tags Full No
Semi-Automatic Security group changes, cost optimization Partial Yes (for high-impact)
Workflow-Based Complex compliance violations Manual Always
Advisory Best practice recommendations None N/A

5.3.2 Remediation Engine Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│        Remediation API          │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│      Action Dispatcher          │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│      Workflow Engine            │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│      Approval Manager           │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│      Execution Engine           │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│      Rollback Manager           │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

5.4 Resource Management Service

5.4.1 Resource Discovery

5.4.2 Resource Inventory Data Model

{
  "Resource": {
    "id": "azure_resource_id",
    "subscription_id": "uuid",
    "resource_group": "string", 
    "name": "string",
    "type": "azure_resource_type",
    "location": "azure_region",
    "tags": "key_value_pairs",
    "properties": "resource_specific_properties",
    "compliance_status": {
      "overall_score": "percentage",
      "policy_results": [
        {
          "policy_id": "uuid",
          "status": "compliant|non_compliant|not_applicable",
          "last_evaluated": "datetime",
          "details": "compliance_details"
        }
      ]
    },
    "metadata": {
      "discovered_date": "datetime",
      "last_updated": "datetime",
      "cost_center": "string",
      "owner": "string",
      "environment": "dev|test|prod"
    }
  }
}

6. Data Architecture

6.1 Data Storage Strategy

6.1.1 Polyglot Persistence Approach

Data Type Storage Technology Justification Capacity Planning
Governance Metadata Azure SQL Database ACID compliance, complex queries, reporting 500GB initial, 2TB max
Policy Definitions Cosmos DB JSON documents, global distribution 100GB initial, 500GB max
Time-Series Metrics Azure Data Explorer High-performance analytics, compression 1TB initial, 10TB max
Audit Logs Blob Storage (Archive) Cost-effective long-term retention 2TB initial, 50TB max
Configuration Data Azure Key Vault + App Configuration Secure parameter storage 10MB initial, 100MB max
Caching Azure Redis Cache High-performance temporary data 4GB initial, 16GB max

6.1.2 Data Partitioning Strategy

Horizontal Partitioning (Sharding)

Vertical Partitioning

6.2 Data Flow Architecture

6.2.1 Real-Time Data Pipeline

Azure Resources → Azure Monitor → Event Hubs → Stream Analytics → 
    │
    ├─→ Compliance Database (Hot Path)
    ├─→ Analytics Store (Warm Path) 
    └─→ Archive Storage (Cold Path)

6.2.2 Batch Processing Pipeline

Azure Resource Graph → Data Factory → Data Lake → 
    │
    ├─→ Compliance Reports
    ├─→ Executive Dashboards
    └─→ ML Feature Store

6.3 Data Security and Privacy

6.3.1 Data Classification

Classification Examples Encryption Access Control
Public Policy documentation, reports TLS in transit Read-only public
Internal Resource metadata, compliance scores AES-256 at rest + TLS Role-based access
Confidential Audit logs, security policies Customer-managed keys Restricted access
Restricted Personal data, financial information FIPS 140-2 Level 3 Need-to-know basis

6.3.2 Data Privacy Compliance

7. Security Architecture

7.1 Security Principles

7.1.1 Zero Trust Model

7.1.2 Defense in Depth

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        IDENTITY LAYER                        │
│  Azure AD │ Multi-Factor Auth │ Privileged Identity Mgmt    │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                      APPLICATION LAYER                       │
│  Application Security │ API Security │ Code Security        │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                       COMPUTE LAYER                          │
│  Container Security │ Function Security │ VM Security       │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                        NETWORK LAYER                         │
│  NSGs │ Application Gateway │ Azure Firewall │ DDoS        │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                         DATA LAYER                           │
│  Encryption │ Key Management │ Data Classification          │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

7.2 Identity and Access Management

7.2.1 Authentication Architecture

7.2.2 Authorization Model

{
  "roles": {
    "governance_admin": {
      "permissions": ["policy.create", "policy.update", "policy.delete", "system.admin"],
      "scope": ["all_subscriptions"]
    },
    "compliance_officer": {
      "permissions": ["compliance.view", "audit.view", "report.generate"],
      "scope": ["assigned_business_units"]  
    },
    "operations_user": {
      "permissions": ["resource.view", "remediation.execute", "dashboard.view"],
      "scope": ["assigned_subscriptions"]
    },
    "developer": {
      "permissions": ["template.use", "resource.deploy", "compliance.check"],
      "scope": ["dev_subscriptions"]
    }
  }
}

7.3 Application Security

7.3.1 API Security

7.3.2 Secure Development Lifecycle

7.4 Data Protection

7.4.1 Encryption Strategy

7.4.2 Key Management

8. Integration Architecture

8.1 Integration Patterns

8.1.1 API-First Integration

All external integrations use RESTful APIs with:

8.1.2 Event-Driven Integration

Asynchronous integration through events:

8.2 Azure Services Integration

8.2.1 Native Azure Integration

Service Integration Purpose Method Frequency
Azure Resource Manager Resource discovery and metadata REST API Real-time
Azure Policy Policy enforcement and evaluation REST API + Events Real-time
Azure Monitor Metrics and logs collection REST API 5 minutes
Azure Cost Management Cost data and optimization REST API Daily
Azure Security Center Security recommendations REST API Hourly
Azure Active Directory Identity and access management Graph API Real-time

8.2.2 Third-Party Integration

System Type Integration Method Data Exchange Security
ITSM (ServiceNow) REST API + Webhooks Incident/Change requests OAuth 2.0
CI/CD (Azure DevOps) REST API + Extensions Pipeline integration Service Principal
Monitoring (Datadog) REST API Metrics and alerts API Key
SIEM (Splunk) Syslog + REST API Security logs TLS + Certificate

8.3 Integration Resilience

8.3.1 Fault Tolerance

8.3.2 Data Consistency

9. Deployment Architecture

9.1 Infrastructure as Code

9.1.1 IaC Strategy

9.1.2 Environment Strategy

Environment Purpose Configuration Data
Development Feature development Minimal resources Synthetic/Anonymized
Testing Integration testing Production-like Subset of production
Staging User acceptance testing Full production scale Production-like
Production Live system High availability Live data

9.2 Container Strategy

9.2.1 Containerization Approach

# Application containerization strategy
base_images:
  - "mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:8.0" # For .NET services
  - "node:18-alpine" # For Node.js services
  - "nginx:alpine" # For reverse proxy

container_registry: "azurecr.io/governance-framework"

deployment_targets:
  - Azure Container Instances (serverless workloads)
  - Azure App Service (web applications)  
  - Azure Functions (event-driven processing)

9.2.2 Container Security

9.3 Blue-Green Deployment

9.3.1 Deployment Process

Production (Blue)    ┌─────────────┐    Production (Green)
     │              │    Load     │              │
     │              │  Balancer   │              │
     ├──────────────►│             │◄─────────────┤
     │              └─────────────┘              │
     │                                           │
┌────▼────┐                                 ┌────▼────┐
│Current  │                                 │  New    │  
│Version  │                                 │Version  │
│  v1.0   │                                 │  v1.1   │
└─────────┘                                 └─────────┘

Steps:
1. Deploy v1.1 to Green environment
2. Run smoke tests on Green
3. Switch 10% traffic to Green (canary)
4. Monitor metrics and error rates  
5. Switch 100% traffic to Green
6. Keep Blue as rollback option

9.3.2 Rollback Strategy

10. Performance Architecture

10.1 Performance Requirements

10.1.1 Response Time Targets

Operation Type Target Response Time Acceptable Maximum
Dashboard Load 2 seconds 3 seconds 5 seconds
Policy Evaluation 5 seconds 10 seconds 30 seconds
Report Generation 30 seconds 60 seconds 120 seconds
API Calls 500ms 1 second 2 seconds
Search Operations 1 second 2 seconds 5 seconds

10.1.2 Throughput Requirements

Operation Target TPS Peak TPS Concurrent Users
Dashboard Views 50 200 100
Policy Evaluations 25 100 N/A
API Requests 100 500 N/A
Report Requests 5 20 50

10.2 Performance Optimization Strategies

10.2.1 Caching Architecture

┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐
│   Browser   │    │     CDN     │    │   Redis     │
│   Cache     │    │    Cache    │    │   Cache     │
│   (Static   │    │  (Global)   │    │ (Session/   │
│  Content)   │    │             │    │  Data)      │
└─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘
       │                  │                  │
       └──────────────────┼──────────────────┘
                          │
              ┌─────────────▼─────────────┐
              │    Application Layer     │
              └───────────────────────────┘

10.2.2 Database Performance

10.2.3 Asynchronous Processing

┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐
│ Synchronous  │    │   Message    │    │ Asynchronous │
│   Request    │───►│    Queue     │───►│  Processing  │
│   (Web API)  │    │              │    │  (Functions) │
└──────────────┘    └──────────────┘    └──────────────┘
       │                                       │
       │                                       │
       └─────────────► Response ◄─────────────┘
         (Immediate)              (Eventual)

11. Quality Attributes

11.1 Reliability

11.1.1 Availability Targets

11.1.2 Fault Tolerance

11.2 Scalability

11.2.1 Scaling Strategies

Component Scaling Method Trigger Limits
Web Apps Horizontal (auto-scale) CPU > 70% 10 instances
APIs Horizontal (auto-scale) Request queue depth 20 instances
Functions Serverless auto-scale Event volume 200 concurrent
Databases Vertical + Read replicas DTU > 80% 4000 DTU
Storage Auto-scale Usage threshold Unlimited

11.2.2 Resource Capacity Planning

Year Users Resources Data Volume Compute Needs
Year 1 100 10,000 500 GB 20 vCPU, 80 GB RAM
Year 2 200 25,000 2 TB 40 vCPU, 160 GB RAM
Year 3 300 50,000 5 TB 80 vCPU, 320 GB RAM

11.3 Security

11.3.1 Security Metrics

Metric Target Measurement
Authentication Success Rate >99% Daily monitoring
Authorization Failures <1% of requests Real-time alerting
Security Incidents 0 critical/month Incident tracking
Vulnerability Remediation <7 days Automated scanning
Data Breach Detection <15 minutes SIEM monitoring

11.3.2 Compliance Monitoring

Standard Compliance Target Verification Method
ISO 27001 100% control compliance Annual audit
NIST CSF All core functions Quarterly assessment
GDPR Full compliance Privacy impact assessment
SOC 2 Type II Clean audit opinion Third-party audit

11.4 Maintainability

11.4.1 Code Quality Metrics

Metric Target Tool
Code Coverage >80% Azure DevOps
Technical Debt <5% SonarQube
Cyclomatic Complexity <10 average Static analysis
Documentation Coverage >90% API documentation

11.4.2 Operational Excellence

12. Architecture Decisions

12.1 Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)

ADR-001: Cloud-Native Architecture

Status: Accepted
Date: August 7, 2025

Context: Need to choose between on-premises, hybrid, or cloud-native architecture.

Decision: Implement cloud-native architecture using Azure PaaS services.

Rationale:

Consequences:

ADR-002: Microservices Architecture

Status: Accepted
Date: August 7, 2025

Context: Choose between monolithic and microservices architecture patterns.

Decision: Implement microservices architecture for core governance functions.

Rationale:

Consequences:

ADR-003: Event-Driven Communication

Status: Accepted
Date: August 7, 2025

Context: Choose between synchronous and asynchronous communication patterns.

Decision: Implement event-driven architecture for inter-service communication.

Rationale:

Consequences:

ADR-004: Polyglot Persistence

Status: Accepted
Date: August 7, 2025

Context: Choose between single database or multiple specialized data stores.

Decision: Use polyglot persistence with Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Data Explorer, and Blob Storage.

Rationale:

Consequences:

12.2 Technology Stack Decisions

12.2.1 Programming Languages and Frameworks

Component Technology Justification
Backend Services .NET 8, C# Enterprise-grade, Azure integration, team expertise
Frontend Applications React 18, TypeScript Modern SPA framework, strong typing, component reusability
API Documentation OpenAPI 3.0, Swagger UI Industry standard, automatic documentation generation
Background Processing Azure Functions, C# Serverless, event-driven, cost-effective
Infrastructure ARM/Bicep Templates Native Azure, declarative, version control friendly

12.2.2 Azure Services Selection

Requirement Azure Service Alternative Considered Decision Rationale
Web Hosting Azure App Service Azure Container Instances Better for web applications, built-in scaling
API Management Azure API Management Application Gateway Advanced API features, developer portal
Identity Azure Active Directory Third-party IdP Native integration, existing organizational use
Messaging Azure Service Bus Azure Storage Queues Advanced messaging features, guaranteed delivery
Monitoring Azure Monitor + App Insights Third-party tools Native integration, cost-effective

13. Risk Considerations

13.1 Technical Risks

13.1.1 High-Risk Items

Risk Impact Probability Mitigation Strategy
Azure Service Limits High Medium Design for quotas, request limit increases early
Performance at Scale High Medium Load testing, performance monitoring, caching
Data Consistency Medium Medium Event sourcing, eventual consistency patterns
Integration Failures High Low Circuit breakers, retry policies, fallback mechanisms
Security Vulnerabilities High Low Security reviews, penetration testing, automated scanning

13.1.2 Architectural Risk Mitigation

Vendor Lock-in Risk:

Scalability Risk:

Single Points of Failure:

13.2 Operational Risks

13.2.1 Deployment Risks

13.2.2 Monitoring and Alerting

14. Implementation Roadmap

14.1 Architecture Implementation Phases

Phase 1: Foundation (August - October 2025)

Duration: 3 months
Budget: $125,000

Objectives:

Key Deliverables:

Success Criteria:

Phase 2: Core Services (November 2025 - February 2026)

Duration: 4 months
Budget: $200,000

Objectives:

Key Deliverables:

Success Criteria:

Phase 3: Advanced Features (March - May 2026)

Duration: 3 months Budget: $150,000

Objectives:

Key Deliverables:

Success Criteria:

Phase 4: Production Deployment (June - August 2026)

Duration: 3 months Budget: $125,000

Objectives:

Key Deliverables:

Success Criteria:

Phase 5: Optimization (September 2026)

Duration: 1 month Budget: $125,000

Objectives:

Key Deliverables:

Success Criteria:

14.2 Implementation Dependencies

14.2.1 Critical Path Dependencies

  1. Azure Subscription Setup → Infrastructure Provisioning → Service Development
  2. Azure AD Integration → RBAC Implementation → User Interface Development
  3. Data Architecture → Service Implementation → Integration Testing
  4. Security Baseline → Production Deployment → User Onboarding

14.2.2 External Dependencies

14.3 Resource Requirements

14.3.1 Team Composition

Role Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5
Project Manager 1.0 FTE 1.0 FTE 1.0 FTE 1.0 FTE 0.5 FTE
Solution Architect 1.0 FTE 0.5 FTE 0.5 FTE 0.5 FTE 0.25 FTE
Backend Developers 2.0 FTE 3.0 FTE 2.0 FTE 1.0 FTE 0.5 FTE
Frontend Developers 0.5 FTE 2.0 FTE 2.0 FTE 1.0 FTE 0.5 FTE
DevOps Engineers 1.0 FTE 1.0 FTE 1.0 FTE 1.0 FTE 0.5 FTE
QA Engineers 0.5 FTE 1.0 FTE 1.5 FTE 1.0 FTE 0.5 FTE
Security Specialist 0.5 FTE 0.5 FTE 0.5 FTE 1.0 FTE 0.25 FTE

14.3.2 Infrastructure Costs

Service Category Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Compute (App Services, Functions) $3,000/month $4,500/month $6,000/month
Storage (SQL, Cosmos, Blob) $2,000/month $3,500/month $5,000/month
Networking (App Gateway, CDN) $1,000/month $1,200/month $1,500/month
Security (Key Vault, Security Center) $500/month $600/month $700/month
Monitoring (Monitor, App Insights) $800/month $1,200/month $1,500/month
Total Monthly $7,300 $11,000 $14,700
Total Annual $87,600 $132,000 $176,400

15. Appendices

Appendix A: Glossary

Term Definition
API Gateway Centralized entry point for API management and security
Blue-Green Deployment Deployment strategy using two identical environments
CQRS Command Query Responsibility Segregation - separating read and write operations
Event Sourcing Storing state changes as events rather than current state
Infrastructure as Code Managing infrastructure through code and automation
Microservices Architectural pattern of small, independent services
Polyglot Persistence Using multiple data storage technologies
Zero Trust Security model that assumes no implicit trust

Appendix B: Reference Architecture Diagrams

B.1 Logical Architecture Overview

[Detailed logical architecture diagram showing all layers and components]

B.2 Physical Architecture Overview

[Physical deployment diagram showing Azure services and network topology]

B.3 Security Architecture Overview

[Security architecture showing authentication, authorization, and data protection]

B.4 Integration Architecture Overview

[Integration patterns and external system connectivity]

Appendix C: Non-Functional Requirements Mapping

NFR Category Architecture Component Implementation Approach
Performance Caching layer, async processing Redis Cache, Azure Functions
Scalability Auto-scaling, load balancing Azure App Service auto-scale
Availability Redundancy, health checks Multi-AZ deployment, monitoring
Security Identity management, encryption Azure AD, Key Vault
Maintainability Modular design, IaC Microservices, ARM templates

Appendix D: Technology Standards

D.1 Coding Standards

D.2 Security Standards

D.3 Operational Standards

Document Control

This Architecture Design Document supports the ICT Governance Framework project charter dated August 7, 2025, and aligns with all requirements specified in the Requirements Specification v1.0. The architecture enables achievement of the project’s success criteria including 100% Azure resource compliance, 95% manual task reduction, and 72% ROI over 3 years.

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