Align Tech Design with Risk,compliance

🧭 Scenario Context

ABC Bank is modernizing its core systems, adopting microservices and moving workloads to cloud (Azure/AWS hybrid).You, as the Enterprise Architect, are responsible for ensuring that every technical design — whether on-prem or cloud — complies with banking regulations, data privacy laws, and enterprise risk policies.

🧱 1️⃣ Establish Governance & Accountability

Step	What You Do	Stakeholders	Output
1.1 Form the Architecture Risk & Compliance Council (ARCC)	Set up a working group with representatives from Enterprise Architecture, Risk, Compliance, and Information Security.	CISO, Head of Risk, Compliance Officer, Data Protection Officer (DPO), Chief Architect	ARCC charter & meeting cadence
1.2 Define Ownership	Assign data & compliance ownership at domain level (e.g., Risk Architect for Risk Controls, Security Architect for Cloud IAM).	Domain Architects, Risk Leads	RACI matrix for compliance accountability

⚙️ 2️⃣ Understand Applicable Regulations and Mandates

Area	Regulatory Reference	Examples
Data Privacy	GDPR, PDPB (India), RBI Data Localization	Data residency, consent management, right to erasure
Risk & Controls	RBI Master Directions, SOX, COBIT 5	Access control, segregation of duties, audit trails
Information Security	ISO 27001, NIST CSF	Encryption, vulnerability management, key rotation
Cloud Compliance	RBI Cloud Risk Guidelines, CSA CCM	Shared responsibility, data sovereignty, exit strategy

✅ You map each relevant clause to architecture control requirements.

🧩 3️⃣ Embed Compliance in Technical Design Lifecycle

Stage	Action	Tool / Framework	Output
EARB (Enterprise Architecture)	Validate architecture principles for compliance: data locality, encryption, zero trust, resilience.	TOGAF ADM (Phase B–D), NIST, RBI Guidelines	Compliance checklist per initiative
SARB (Solution Architecture)	Ensure solution design includes controls for data protection (masking, tokenization, IAM).	Cloud Well-Architected Framework (Security, Reliability)	SARB compliance report
TDR (Technical Design)	Verify encryption, access, logging, and audit trails are technically implemented.	DevSecOps pipelines, automated compliance scans	Signed TDR checklist

🔒 4️⃣ Define Architectural Controls and Patterns

Control Type	Architecture Enforcement
Data Security	All PII data encrypted (AES-256) in transit & at rest. Use KMS/HSM with key rotation.
Access Management	Enforce MFA, RBAC via Azure AD/Okta; least privilege principles.
Audit & Logging	Centralized SIEM (Splunk/Sentinel); immutable audit logs for RBI/SOX.
Data Residency	Customer data stored only in India regions (Azure Central India / AWS Mumbai).
Third-party Integration	Use API Gateway with OAuth2; ensure vendor SOC2/ISO27001 compliance.

📊 5️⃣ Embed Compliance into DevSecOps Pipeline

Step	Automation Control	Tools
Static Security Scan	SAST for code-level vulnerabilities	SonarQube, Checkmarx
Dependency Scan	Detect CVEs in libraries	OWASP Dependency Check
Infra Compliance	IaC policy enforcement	Terraform Sentinel, Azure Policy
Runtime Compliance	Container scan & config validation	Prisma Cloud, Aqua Security
Audit Evidence	Automated compliance reports	Confluence + ServiceNow integration

🔍 6️⃣ Periodic Review and Risk Governance

Review Board	Frequency	Focus	Output
EARB	Monthly	Strategic architecture & compliance posture	Architecture compliance dashboard
SARB	Per project milestone	Solution-level risk & control validation	Risk mitigation tracker
Risk & Compliance Council	Quarterly	Enterprise risk aggregation	Residual risk log, RCA summaries

📈 7️⃣ KPI & Metrics to Track

KPI	Description	Target
Architecture Compliance Score	% of designs compliant with EA & regulatory standards	≥ 95%
Residual Risk	% of open compliance findings post-review	≤ 5%
Audit Readiness	% of projects with traceable audit evidence	100%
Data Residency Violations	# of incidents per quarter	0
Automated Control Coverage	% controls automated in CI/CD	≥ 70%

🏁 8️⃣ Deliverables

• Compliance-aligned Architecture Blueprint

• Architecture Risk Register (linked to enterprise risk matrix)

• Compliance-by-Design Framework (reusable reference for all future projects)

• Updated EA Repository (LeanIX / Confluence / ADO) with evidence traceability

• Quarterly Compliance Posture Report to CTO & CIO

🧠 How You’d Explain in an Interview

“At ABC Bank, I drove alignment between our cloud and on-prem designs with RBI and data privacy mandates.I established a governance model where every design went through compliance validation via EARB, SARB, and TDR.We automated checks for encryption, access, and data residency in our CI/CD pipelines using Azure Policy and Terraform Sentinel.I also chaired quarterly Architecture Risk Reviews with the CISO and DPO to ensure all deviations were tracked and mitigated.This reduced regulatory audit findings by 80% within two quarters.”