# The Five Pillars of the Well-Architected Framework

* Reliability
    
* Security
    
* Cost Optimization
    
* Operational Excellence
    
* Performance Efficiency
    

![Diagram of the Well-Architected Framework and supporting elements.](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/framework/_images/waf-diagram-revised.png align="center")

\*\*Operational Excellence Pillar \*\*The operational excellence pillar includes the ability to run and monitor systems to deliver business value and continually improve supporting processes and procedures.

Design Principles, examples

> Automate cluster operations

Use cloud-native architectures where applicable

\*\*Best Practices \*\*Prepare: As you prepare to deploy your workload, consider using specialized software packages (commercial or open source) to gain visibility into system information and leverage this information to define architecture patterns for your workloads. Use automation tools,

**Operate**: Operations must be standardized and managed routinely. Focus on automation, small frequent changes, regular quality assurance testing, and defined mechanisms to track, audit, roll back, and review changes.

\*\*Evolve \*\* References: https://aws.amazon.com/architecture/well-architected/?ref=wellarchitected-wp&wa-lens-whitepapers.sort-by=item.additionalFields.sortDate&wa-lens-whitepapers.sort-order=desc&wa-guidance-whitepapers.sort-by=item.additionalFields.sortDate&wa-guidance-whitepapers.sort-order=desc

https://aws.amazon.com/well-architected-tool/?ref=wellarchitected-wp&whats-new-cards.sort-by=item.additionalFields.postDateTime&whats-new-cards.sort-order=desc