Chapter 22 — Analyzing Architecture Risk

Core ideas

• Risk matrix: score each risk on impact × likelihood (low/medium/high → 1–9). Turns gut-feel into a ranked, communicable list.
• Risk assessments (a heat-map/summary across characteristics and services), tracking risk direction (improving vs. worsening over time), not just the current level.
• Risk storming: a collaborative exercise — architects and devs individually identify and rank risks (identification), then converge (consensus), then agree mitigation. Done per characteristic (e.g., do an availability risk-storming pass, then elasticity, etc.).

Trade-offs to argue

Individual-then-collaborative avoids anchoring/groupthink; the matrix forces you to separate “scary but unlikely” from “boring but certain.”