AWS Well-Architected Review
We run AWS Well-Architected Framework Reviews (WAFR) as an authorised AWS Partner. Identify high-risk issues across security, reliability, cost, performance, and operations - then fix them with a structured remediation plan and ongoing support.
Sound familiar?
Your AWS bill keeps growing and nobody knows why
Resources accumulate, costs drift, and nobody has done a structured review of whether the architecture still fits the workload.
You're preparing for a compliance audit
SOC 2, ISO 27001, or PCI DSS auditors will ask about your cloud architecture practices. A WAFR gives you documented evidence.
The team inherited infrastructure and doesn't trust it
After a migration, acquisition, or team change - nobody is confident the architecture is sound. You need an independent assessment.
AWS keeps flagging high-risk items you can't prioritise
The Well-Architected Tool shows dozens of HRIs but your team has no bandwidth to triage them systematically.
You want the 10% AWS discount but don't know how to qualify
AWS offers 10% off on resources directly linked to remediation work. You need a partner to run the review and track the link between findings and fixes.
You've never done a WAFR and don't know where to start
The framework has 6 pillars, hundreds of questions, and no clear guidance on what's critical vs. nice-to-have for your specific situation.
What you get from a Well-Architected Review with Devopsity
Prioritised risk report
Not a 200-page PDF nobody reads. A ranked list of high-risk items with business impact, effort estimate, and recommended fix for each.
10% AWS discount on remediated resources
We track the link between WAFR findings and remediation work, qualifying you for the AWS Partner-led 10% discount programme.
Remediation plan with timelines
Each finding gets a fix - either implemented by us during the engagement or documented as a backlog item with clear instructions for your team.
Repeatable review cadence
WAFR isn't a one-off. We set up quarterly or bi-annual review cycles so your architecture stays aligned as workloads evolve.
Problems we solve with Well-Architected Reviews
Problem
Architecture decisions were made 2 years ago and never revisited
We review against current AWS best practices and identify where original decisions no longer fit your scale, traffic patterns, or compliance requirements.
Problem
Security findings pile up with no triage process
We prioritise HRIs by business impact and exploitability, not just severity. The top 5 get fixed during the engagement; the rest go into a tracked backlog.
Problem
Cloud costs grew 40% year-over-year without matching business growth
The Cost Optimisation pillar review identifies right-sizing opportunities, missing reservations, orphaned resources, and architecture-level inefficiencies.
Problem
The team doesn't know what "good" looks like on AWS
WAFR gives your team a benchmark. After the review they know exactly where you stand vs. AWS best practices - with evidence, not opinions.
Problem
You need compliance evidence for auditors
The WAFR report maps directly to SOC 2 trust criteria and ISO 27001 controls. We provide auditor-ready documentation of your architecture posture.
Problem
You want the AWS discount but your previous partner didn't deliver
We track every finding to remediation in the AWS WA Tool. The 10% discount applies to resources directly improved by the remediation work.
Why run a Well-Architected Review
Structured assessment, not opinions
The review follows AWS's official methodology with standardised questions across 6 pillars. Results are objective and comparable across review cycles.
AWS-recognised findings
Results are recorded in the AWS Well-Architected Tool, visible to AWS and qualifying for partner programmes and discount incentives.
Directly actionable output
Every finding comes with a recommended fix, effort estimate, and priority level. No generic advice - specific changes to your environment.
Cost recovery through AWS discount
Remediation work tracked through the WA Tool qualifies for the AWS 10% discount on improved resources. The review often pays for itself.
Compliance acceleration
WAFR findings map to SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIS2, and DORA requirements. The review doubles as compliance gap analysis at no extra cost.
Team upskilling
The review process involves your engineers. They learn AWS best practices by working through real findings in their own environment.
How the Well-Architected Review process works
Our WAFR process follows the AWS Partner methodology. As an authorised AWS Partner in the Well-Architected programme since 2024, we run reviews that qualify for AWS incentives and produce actionable results.
Step 1: Scoping
We define which workload(s) to review, identify stakeholders, and agree on pillar focus areas based on your priorities.
- •Identify the workload boundary (which AWS accounts, services, and environments)
- •Select pillar focus (all 6 or prioritised subset based on risk appetite)
- •Schedule stakeholder interviews (architecture, security, operations, finance)
- •Create the workload in the AWS Well-Architected Tool
Step 2: Review
Structured interviews with your team, walking through the Well-Architected questions for each selected pillar. We document answers, identify risks, and note current architecture decisions.
- •Pillar-by-pillar questionnaire with technical stakeholders
- •Live architecture review (console walkthrough, IaC review, diagrams)
- •Document current state vs. best practice for each question
- •Mark High Risk Items (HRIs) and Medium Risk Items (MRIs) in the WA Tool
- •Cross-reference findings with existing compliance requirements
Step 3: Report & Prioritise
We produce a prioritised findings report ranked by business impact and remediation effort. Not a generic checklist - a specific action plan for your environment.
- •Generate the WAFR report from the AWS WA Tool
- •Rank findings by risk (business impact × likelihood × effort to fix)
- •Produce remediation recommendations with estimated effort for each HRI
- •Present findings to leadership and engineering (separate sessions)
- •Agree on remediation scope and timeline
Step 4: Remediate
We fix the highest-priority findings. Depending on scope, this ranges from a focused sprint on top-5 HRIs to a multi-week programme covering all findings.
- •Implement fixes for agreed HRI/MRI items
- •Track remediation in the AWS WA Tool (required for discount qualification)
- •Create milestones in the WA Tool after each batch of fixes
- •Validate fixes (security scans, cost analysis, performance tests)
- •Document changes and update architecture diagrams
Step 5: Verify & Discount
We close the loop: verify fixes are effective, update the WA Tool, and ensure you qualify for the AWS 10% discount on remediated resources.
- •Re-answer resolved questions in the WA Tool (flip HRI → resolved)
- •Create a final milestone capturing the improved state
- •Submit for AWS Partner discount qualification (10% on improved resources)
- •Provide before/after comparison report
- •Schedule next review cycle (recommended quarterly or bi-annually)
Start here: free architecture health check
Not sure if you need a full review? Start with a free 30-minute architecture health check - no access, no NDA, no commitment.
30-minute structured discovery call
We ask targeted questions based on the Well-Architected pillars. You describe your setup - verbally or via screen share you control. No access to your accounts needed.
Optional: send your anonymised AWS bill beforehand
Export your latest full Cost Explorer bill to CSV or PDF (black out account IDs if you prefer) and send it before the call. We'll come prepared with observations about your spending patterns, anomalies, and optimisation opportunities.
Outcome: 2-3 identified risk areas
By the end of the call you'll know which areas (cost, reliability, security) have the most room for improvement and which type of review would give you the highest ROI.
Optional: send an anonymised Cost Explorer export to [email protected] before the call - we'll come prepared with observations.
Beyond the standard WAFR - focused deep-dive reviews
The standard Well-Architected questionnaire covers breadth, but often lacks depth. When your priority is a specific area - cost reduction, production readiness, or security posture - we offer focused reviews that go far beyond the WAFR checklist.
FinOps Deep-Dive
Actual workload analysis, billing review, architecture-to-business-intent mapping. We identify where costs don't align with value - not just oversized instances, but structural inefficiencies in how your architecture generates spend.
Scope: Cost Optimisation pillar + billing analysis + architecture review
Reliability & Production Readiness
Identification of single points of failure, self-hosted vs managed decision review, high availability assessment, and stress/load test planning. For teams preparing to scale or recovering from outages.
Scope: Reliability pillar + SPOF analysis + HA architecture + load testing
Security & Compliance Posture
Deep review of network segmentation, data protection, compute hardening, Organisation-level governance, access controls, and compliance readiness (SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIS2, DORA). Goes beyond the WAFR security pillar into operational security practices.
Scope: Security pillar + network/data/compute audit + governance + compliance gap analysis
AWS Well-Architected Partner Programme
Official AWS Partner
Devopsity has been part of the AWS Well-Architected Partner Programme since 2024. Reviews we conduct are recognised by AWS and qualify for incentives.
10% discount on remediated resources
AWS offers a 10% discount on resources that can be directly linked to improvements identified and implemented through a partner-led WAFR. We handle the tracking.
Recorded in the AWS WA Tool
All findings and remediations are tracked in the official AWS Well-Architected Tool - giving you a permanent, auditable record visible to AWS.
Repeatable and comparable
Milestones in the WA Tool let you compare your architecture posture across review cycles. Track improvement over time with objective metrics.