1. Regulatory Compliance

1.1 General Regulatory Compliance

• Are all applicable industry standards and regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOX) identified and documented?
• Is there a compliance matrix mapping the system components to specific regulatory requirements?
• Are compliance requirements integrated into the system design and development process?
• Is there a process for regularly updating the system to comply with new or changing regulations?
• Are there audit trails and logging mechanisms in place to track compliance activities?
• Are data protection and privacy policies enforced throughout the system?

1.2 Data Privacy and Protection

• Is personal data (PII) handled in accordance with relevant data protection regulations?
• Are data minimization practices followed, collecting only the data necessary for processing?
• Is there a clear data classification scheme, and are sensitive data adequately protected?
• Are consent management and user rights (e.g., right to access, right to be forgotten) implemented?
• Is data encryption applied both at rest and in transit?
• Are there procedures for data breach notification and incident response?

1.3 Security Compliance

• Are security standards (e.g., ISO 27001, NIST) applied consistently across the system?
• Are access controls and authentication mechanisms aligned with regulatory requirements?
• Are regular security audits, vulnerability assessments, and penetration tests conducted?
• Are third-party vendors and services compliant with the relevant regulations?
• Is there a security incident response plan in place, and is it regularly tested?

1.4 Data Retention and Disposal

• Are data retention policies compliant with regulatory requirements?
• Is there a documented data lifecycle management process?
• Are data disposal and destruction processes secure and compliant?
• Are there mechanisms to ensure that data is purged in accordance with retention policies?
• Are legal hold processes in place for retaining data during litigation?

Questionnaire:

• What are the specific regulatory requirements applicable to this system, and how are they addressed?
• How is personal data handled to ensure compliance with data protection regulations?
• What are the key challenges in maintaining compliance, and how are they mitigated?
• How does the architecture support regular compliance audits and reporting?
• How is regulatory change management handled within the architecture?
• How are third-party services or vendors evaluated for compliance?

2. Governance

2.1 Architecture Documentation

• Is there comprehensive and up-to-date documentation of the system architecture?
• Are architectural decisions documented, including rationale, alternatives considered, and trade-offs made?
• Is there a central repository for storing and managing architectural documentation?
• Are documentation standards and templates followed across all projects?
• Are architecture diagrams (e.g., component diagrams, data flow diagrams) maintained and regularly updated?
• Is there a version control system in place for managing architectural artifacts?

2.2 Review Cycles and Decision-Making

• Are regular architecture review meetings or boards established?
• Are roles and responsibilities for architecture review clearly defined?
• Is there a formal process for proposing, reviewing, and approving architectural changes?
• Are architecture reviews conducted at key stages of the project lifecycle (e.g., design, pre-release)?
• Are there criteria for evaluating architectural changes (e.g., impact analysis, risk assessment)?
• Are decisions documented, and is there a process for revisiting decisions as needed?

2.3 Governance Processes

• Are governance frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, COBIT) adopted and followed within the organization?
• Is there a governance body or steering committee overseeing architecture practices?
• Are there guidelines and policies for ensuring architectural alignment with business goals?
• Are there metrics and KPIs to measure the effectiveness of architecture governance?
• Is there a continuous improvement process for architecture governance practices?
• Are there policies for managing technical debt, legacy systems, and architectural erosion?

2.4 Risk Management and Compliance Oversight

• Are risk management practices integrated into the architecture review process?
• Is there a process for identifying, assessing, and mitigating architectural risks?
• Are there governance mechanisms for ensuring ongoing compliance with regulations?
• Is there a process for monitoring and addressing non-compliance or governance issues?
• Are risk assessments regularly reviewed and updated?
• Are there escalation procedures for unresolved governance or compliance risks?

2.5 Stakeholder Involvement

• Are stakeholders (e.g., business units, IT, legal, compliance) involved in architecture reviews?
• Is there a process for gathering and incorporating stakeholder feedback into architectural decisions?
• Are communication channels established to ensure transparency in decision-making?
• Are stakeholders informed of architectural changes that impact their areas of responsibility?
• Is there training or onboarding for new stakeholders involved in governance processes?

Questionnaire:

• How is architectural documentation managed and maintained?
• What are the key governance frameworks or models used in the organization?
• How are architecture decisions made, documented, and communicated?
• What is the process for conducting architecture reviews, and how often are they performed?
• How are risks identified and managed within the architecture?
• How does the governance process ensure alignment with business goals and regulatory requirements?
• What metrics are used to evaluate the effectiveness of architecture governance?
• How are stakeholders engaged in the architecture governance process?