Appendix - Solutions Architecture & Communication

What We Learned

Discover the actual workflow, pain, data, owner and measurable baseline before proposing a solution.
Qualify value, feasibility and risk; include review and error costs in the business case.
Document architecture, alternatives, non-functional requirements and decisions with evidence.
Explain the same results to engineers and executives using the detail each needs.
Progress from PoC to pilot to production with agreed exit criteria, staged autonomy and named owners.

Term	Short meaning
Discovery / baseline	Investigating the real problem / measured starting performance.
ROI / TCO	Return On Investment / Total Cost of Ownership: value relative to investment / all ownership costs.
Unit economics / payback	Cost and benefit per task / time to recover the initial investment.
Sensitivity analysis	Tests how a conclusion changes when assumptions change.
PoC / pilot / production	Proof of Concept / real-user trial / dependable operated system.
NFR	Non-Functional Requirement: quality, latency, availability, security or other operating constraint.
C4	Context, Containers, Components, Code: levels for architecture diagrams.
ADR	Architecture Decision Record: context, decision and consequences of one choice.
Risk register	Tracked risks with impact, mitigations and owners.
Exit criteria	Pre-agreed evidence for proceeding, iterating or stopping a pilot.
Shadow / assist / automate	Observe without acting / support a human / execute workflow actions.
Adoption / capacity savings	Actual sustained use / freed time that is not automatically cash savings.
ADKAR	Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement: a change-management model.