TL;DR
The Statement of Architecture Work is the formal Phase A agreement for the architecture project. It documents the Phase A findings, defines scope and approach, and gives sponsors a baseline for measuring architecture project execution.
What It Is
The Statement of Architecture Work is developed in the last step of Phase A: Architecture Vision.
It captures the findings and results of Phase A and turns them into an agreed architecture project structure.
In practice, it works as:
- a contract between the architecture team and the project sponsor
- the baseline against which architecture project execution is measured
- the formal definition of scope and approach
- a possible basis for a supplier-consumer contract when architecture work is outsourced
Why It Matters
Without an approved Statement of Architecture Work, later architecture work can become disputed:
- scope can drift
- acceptance criteria can stay vague
- roles and responsibilities can remain unclear
- sponsors and architecture teams can measure success differently
The deliverable makes the engagement explicit before deeper architecture definition begins.
Typical Content
| Content area | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Title and approvals | document identity, approval records, and signatures |
| Change of scope procedures | how scope changes are requested, reviewed, and approved |
| Architecture project request | background, description, and reason for the work |
| Scope | boundaries, assumptions, constraints, and architecture coverage |
| Plan and schedule | major work packages, timing, and governance checkpoints |
| Acceptance criteria | how deliverables and project outcomes will be accepted |
| Roles and responsibilities | sponsor, architecture team, supplier, consumer, and stakeholder responsibilities |
| Deliverables | expected architecture outputs and review points |
| Architecture Vision overview | summary of the agreed Phase A vision |
If you know project management, this feels close to a Project Charter, with architecture-specific scope, governance, and deliverable detail.
ADM Use
flowchart LR A["Phase A<br/>Create and approve"] E["Phase E<br/>Update if needed"] FG["Phases F-G<br/>Guide planning and governance"] H["Phase H<br/>Change management"] RM["Requirements Management<br/>control requirement impact"] A --> E --> FG --> H RM -.-> A RM -.-> E RM -.-> FG RM -.-> H
- Phase A creates and approves the Statement of Architecture Work.
- Phase E may update it if opportunities and solution decisions affect the project structure.
- Phases F and G use it to guide implementation planning and governance.
- Phase H and Requirements Management may trigger updates when architecture change or requirement changes affect the agreed work.
Exam note
- The Statement of Architecture Work is a core Phase A deliverable.
- It is developed in the last step of Phase A.
- It serves as an agreement between the architecture team and sponsor.
- It defines project scope, approach, roles, responsibilities, deliverables, schedule, and acceptance criteria.
- It can support contractual agreement when architecture services are outsourced.
- It is created and approved in Phase A and may be updated later if necessary.