What an AWS Well-Architected Review actually covers
Six pillars, one report. What happens during a review and what you get at the end.
The AWS Well-Architected Framework is a set of best practices for building secure, reliable and efficient systems in the cloud. A Well-Architected Review checks one or more of your workloads against it and turns the gaps into a prioritised plan.
The six pillars
- Operational excellence
- How you run, monitor and improve your systems, including deployments and incident response.
- Security
- Identity and access, data protection, detection and how you respond to security events.
- Reliability
- How your workload recovers from failure and copes with changes in demand.
- Performance efficiency
- Whether you’re using the right resources for the job, and keep them right as needs change.
- Cost optimisation
- Avoiding unnecessary spend, from oversized instances to forgotten resources.
- Sustainability
- Reducing the environmental impact of your workloads through efficient design.
What happens during a review
We agree which workloads to review, then run structured sessions with the people who build and operate them. We look at the architecture and configuration as well as how the team works.
Each question in the framework is answered honestly, and risks are rated high or medium. The aim is a clear picture, not a pass or fail.
What you get
A report summarising risks by pillar, with recommended improvements ranked by impact and effort. Quick wins are separated from larger pieces of work, so you can start improving straight away and plan the rest.
