AWS Well-Architected Framework – Updated White Papers, Tools, and Best Practices

We want to make sure that you are designing and building AWS-powered applications in the best possible way. Back in 2015 we launched AWS Well-Architected to make sure that you have all of the information that you need to do this right. The framework is built on five pillars:

Operational Excellence – The ability to run and monitor systems to deliver business value and to continually improve supporting processes and procedures.

Security – The ability to protect information, systems, and assets while delivering business value through risk assessments and mitigation strategies.

Reliability – The ability of a system to recover from infrastructure or service disruptions, dynamically acquire computing resources to meet demand, and mitigate disruptions such as misconfigurations or transient network issues.

Performance Efficiency – The ability to use computing resources efficiently to meet system requirements, and to maintain that efficiency as demand changes and technologies evolve.

Cost Optimization – The ability to run systems to deliver business value at
the lowest price point.

Whether you are a startup, a unicorn, or an enterprise, the AWS Well-Architected Framework will point you in the right direction and then guide you along the way as you build your cloud applications.

Lots of Updates
Today we are making a host of updates to the Well-Architected Framework! Here’s an overview:

Well-Architected Framework -This update includes new and updated questions, best practices, and improvement plans, plus additional examples and architectural considerations. We have added new best practices in operational excellence (organization), reliability (workload architecture), and cost optimization (practice Cloud Financial Management). We are also making the framework available in eight additional languages (Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese). Read the Well-Architected Framework (PDF, Kindle) to learn more.

Pillar White Papers & Labs – We have updated the white papers that define each of the five pillars with additional content, including new & updated questions, real-world examples, additional cross-references, and a focus on actionable best practices. We also updated the labs that accompany each pillar:

• Operational Excellence (PDF, Kindle, Lab)
• Security (PDF, Kindle, Lab)
• Reliability (PDF, Kindle, Lab)
• Performance Efficiency (PDF, Kindle, Lab)
• Cost Optimization (PDF, Kindle, Lab)

Well-Architected Tool – We have updated the AWS Well-Architected Tool to reflect the updates that we made to the Framework and to the White Papers.

Learning More
In addition to the documents that I linked above, you should also watch these videos.

In this video, AWS customer Cox Automotive talks about how they are using AWS Well-Architected to deliver results across over 200 platforms:

In this video, my colleague Rodney Lester tells you how to build better workloads with the Well-Architected Framework and Tool:

Get Started Today
If you are like me, a lot of interesting services and ideas are stashed away in a pile of things that I hope to get to “someday.” Given the importance of the five pillars that I mentioned above, I’d suggest that Well-Architected does not belong in that pile, and that you should do all that you can to learn more and to become well-architected as soon as possible!

— Jeff;