| name | architecture-review-board |
| description | ARB process design, RFC governance, decision log and technical review workflows |
| triggers | {"score-below":60} |
| preferred-model | opus |
| min-confidence | 0.4 |
| depends-on | ["design-patterns","adr"] |
| category | management |
| estimated-tokens | 6000 |
| tags | ["arb","governance","rfc"] |
Architecture Review Board (ARB)
When to Use
- Establishing a technical decision governance process
- Reviewing proposed architecture changes before implementation
- Maintaining consistency across teams and services
- Building organizational knowledge through decision logs
ARB Process
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Proposal │───►│ Review │───►│ Decision │───►│ Record │
│ (RFC) │ │ (Meeting) │ │ (Vote) │ │ (ADR) │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘
Author ARB Board Approve/ Decision
writes reviews Reject/ logged
Defer
RFC Template
# RFC: [Title]
**Author**: [name]
**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Status**: Draft / In Review / Approved / Rejected
## Problem Statement
[What problem are we solving and why now?]
## Proposed Solution
[Technical approach with diagrams]
## Alternatives Considered
| Option | Pros | Cons |
|--------|------|------|
| Option A | ... | ... |
| Option B | ... | ... |
## Impact Analysis
- Services affected: [list]
- Database changes: [yes/no, describe]
- API changes: [breaking/non-breaking]
- Performance impact: [estimate]
- Security implications: [describe]
## Migration Plan
[How to get from current state to proposed state]
## Risks
1. [Risk with mitigation]
## Open Questions
1. [Question that needs ARB input]
Review Criteria
When ARB Review is Required
| Change Type | Review Required? |
|---|
| New external dependency | ✅ Yes |
| New database | ✅ Yes |
| New programming language | ✅ Yes |
| New microservice | ✅ Yes |
| Architecture pattern change | ✅ Yes |
| API breaking change | ✅ Yes |
| Internal refactoring | ❌ No (team decision) |
| Library update | ❌ No (unless major version) |
| Bug fixes | ❌ No |
| New feature (existing patterns) | ❌ No |
Decision Log
| ID | Date | Title | Decision | Rationale |
|----|------|-------|----------|-----------|
| ARB-001 | 2026-01 | Database choice | PostgreSQL | ACID, JSON support, team expertise |
| ARB-002 | 2026-02 | API framework | NestJS | TypeScript, modular, good ORM integration |
| ARB-003 | 2026-03 | Mobile framework | Flutter | Cross-platform, Dart performance, single codebase |
Meeting Format (30-45 minutes)
- RFC Presentation (10 min): Author presents proposal
- Q&A (10 min): Board asks questions
- Discussion (10 min): Alternatives, risks, concerns
- Decision (5 min): Approve / Reject / Defer / Request Changes
- Action Items (5 min): Who does what by when
Board Composition
- CTO or VP Engineering (chair)
- Senior/Staff Engineers (rotating monthly)
- Security representative (for security-impacting RFCs)
- Product representative (for customer-impacting changes)
Quality Gates