The Art of CTO Architecture Scenario Planner models architecture approaches on a canvas and compares saved scenarios side by side on cost, performance and reliability, showing each as a delta from the baseline.
What happens if we change the architecture?
Architecture Scenario PlannerAbout 30 min · Canvas · FreeAbout this toolWhy it matters, common mistakes, FAQ
What Actually Happens If You Change This?
Large architectural changes are argued on intuition because the alternative is a six-week analysis nobody has time for. The result is a decision that cannot be explained to the people who have to live with it.
One option gets modelled — the preferred one — and the comparison is against a status quo nobody has costed. Doing nothing has a price too, and it is usually the option that gets the least scrutiny.
Questions CTOs ask
- How do you compare architecture approaches?
- Compare architecture approaches across five dimensions: cost (infrastructure and development investment over 3 years), performance (latency, throughput, resource efficiency), scalability (maximum capacity, scaling complexity, cost curve), team capability (skills required, hiring difficulty, learning curve), and risk (migration complexity, vendor lock-in, technology maturity). Score each option on each dimension, weight the dimensions based on your organization's priorities, and calculate a total weighted score. Document the analysis in an Architecture Decision Record for future reference.
- What is an Architecture Decision Record (ADR)?
- An ADR is a lightweight document that captures an architecture decision, its context, the options considered, and the rationale for the chosen approach. A typical ADR includes: title, date, status (proposed/accepted/deprecated), context (why this decision is needed), decision (what was decided), consequences (trade-offs accepted), and alternatives considered. ADRs create an institutional memory of why decisions were made, preventing future teams from relitigating settled decisions or repeating past mistakes.
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