Announcing updates to the AWS Well-Architected Framework

We are excited to announce the availability of improved AWS Well-Architected Framework content. In this update, we have made changes across all six pillars of the framework: Operational Excellence, Security, Reliability, Performance Efficiency, Cost Optimization, and Sustainability.

A brief history

The Well-Architected Framework is a collection of best practices that allow customers to evaluate and improve the design, implementation, and operations of their workloads and organizations in the cloud.

In 2012, the first version of the framework was published, leading to the 2015 release of the guidance whitepaper. We added the operational excellence pillar in 2016. The pillar-specific whitepapers and AWS Well-Architected Lenses were released in 2017, and, the following year, the AWS Well-Architected Tool was launched. In 2020, the content for the framework received a major update, more lenses, and API integration with the Well-Architected Tool. The sixth pillar, sustainability, was added in late 2021.

AWS Well-Architected timeline

What’s new

Updates to the Well-Architected content include:

• For each of the six pillars, content was consolidated between the Well-Architected Framework whitepapers and the best practice descriptions. The updated content is now available both in the pillars’ whitepapers and in the Framework whitepaper.
• For all six pillars, dedicated pages for each best practice were created, with options to receive feedback.
• All best practices across all pillars now follow a consistent template. The template includes (as applicable):
  • Information on common anti-patterns
  • Benefits
  • Risk levels
  • Implementation guidance
  • Related resources (such as documents and videos)
• Prescriptive guidance was added to 18 best practices within the Reliability, Performance Efficiency, and Operational Excellence pillars, which assist with remediation of high-risk issues identified as part of Well-Architected Framework reviews. The best practices that were updated are:
  • Reliability
    • Monitor all components for the workload (Generation) (REL06_BP01)
    • Identify and backup all necessary data, or reproduce the data from sources (REL09_BP01)
    • Perform data backup automatically (REL09_BP03)
    • Perform periodic recovery of the data to verify backup integrity and processes (REL09_BP04)
    • Select the appropriate locations for your multi-location deployment (REL10_BP02)
    • Define recovery objectives for downtime and data loss (REL13_BP01)
    • Use defined recovery strategies to meet the recovery objectives (REL13_BP02)
  • Performance Efficiency
    • Evaluate the available compute options (PERF02_BP01)
    • Understand the available compute configuration options (PERF02_BP02)
    • Collect compute-related metrics (PERF02_BP03)
    • Understand data characteristics (PERF04_BP01)
    • Evaluate the available options (PERF04_BP02)
    • Collect and record database performance metrics (PERF04_BP03)
    • Choose data storage based on access patterns (PERF04_BP04)
    • Understand how networking impacts performance (PERF05_BP01)
    • Choose appropriately sized dedicated connectivity or VPN for hybrid workloads (PERF05_BP03)
    • Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure workload performance (PERF07_BP03)
  • Operational Excellence
    • Implement application telemetry (OPS04_BP01)
• The Framework is now available in 11 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.

Learn, measure, improve, and iterate

Best practices include regularly reviewing your workloads—even those that have not had major changes. We encourage you to assess your existing workloads as your architecture evolves or business needs change, and create milestones for your workloads as they develop. Use the Well-Architected Framework to guide your design and architecture of new workloads, or of workloads that you are planning on moving to the cloud.

Taking best practices into account early in your process can yield high success rates. In effective organizations, each best practice is considered and prioritized with respect to the goal they are trying to achieve.

AWS Well-Architected helps cloud architects build secure, high-performing, resilient, and efficient infrastructure for a variety of applications and workloads. The Framework is built around six pillars—operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, cost optimization, and sustainability.

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