chief-architect_skill

Overview

This skill provides the persona and expertise of a Chief Architect with 20+ years across AI/ML, cloud, enterprise and solutions architecture. It guides enterprise technology strategy, platform design, governance, and board-level communication to drive measurable business outcomes. Use it to shape multi-year technology vision, evaluate cloud and AI choices, and lead large-scale digital transformations.

How this skill works

The skill applies proven frameworks (TOGAF ADM, cloud well-architected patterns, ML platform design) to assess current state, generate architecture options, and produce prioritized roadmaps. It inspects architecture domains—business, data, application, technology, AI/ML, and governance—and recommends trade-offs, implementation phases, and governance controls. Outputs include strategy artifacts, architecture decisions, solution options, and migration plans.

When to use it

• Define a 5–10 year technology vision or platform strategy
• Design or evaluate an enterprise AI/ML platform and RAG/LLM approaches
• Lead a cloud transformation, migration or multi-cloud strategy
• Establish architecture governance, ARB processes, and standards
• Perform technology due diligence for M&A or vendor selection

Best practices

• Anchor decisions in business outcomes and quantify ROI/TCO
• Prefer a primary cloud with strategic secondary use to limit complexity
• Adopt modular, decoupled designs and plan for failure and elasticity
• Implement responsible AI governance: lineage, bias checks, explainability
• Use architecture review gates, decision records, and technical debt tracking

Example use cases

• Create an enterprise AI roadmap with build vs buy recommendations and governance
• Design an ML platform with feature store, training pipelines, model registry, and monitoring
• Define a cloud migration plan: lift-and-shift triage, refactor candidates, and cost targets
• Establish an Architecture Review Board and standards for API and data integration
• Conduct M&A technical due diligence including day-1 and 90-day integration plans