melodic-software/cloud-alignment

Cloud Alignment

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Check alignment with Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF)
• Validate against AWS Well-Architected Framework pillars
• Identify cloud architecture gaps
• Get cloud-specific best practice recommendations

Keywords: cloud adoption framework, caf, well-architected, azure, aws, landing zone, governance, security pillar, reliability, cost optimization, sustainability

Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF)

CAF provides comprehensive guidance for Azure cloud adoption through 7 methodologies:

CAF Methodologies

| # | Methodology | Purpose | Key Activities | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Strategy | Define business justification | Motivations, outcomes, business case | | 2 | Plan | Create adoption plan | Digital estate, skills, timeline | | 3 | Ready | Prepare environment | Landing zones, governance baseline | | 4 | Adopt | Migrate/innovate workloads | Migration waves, modernization | | 5 | Govern | Manage cloud governance | Policies, compliance, cost management | | 6 | Secure | Implement security | Zero trust, identity, data protection | | 7 | Manage | Operate cloud estate | Monitoring, optimization, resilience |

CAF Alignment Checklist

Strategy

• [ ] Cloud motivations documented
• [ ] Business outcomes defined
• [ ] Financial considerations addressed
• [ ] Technical considerations documented

Plan

• [ ] Digital estate assessed
• [ ] Skills readiness evaluated
• [ ] Cloud adoption plan created
• [ ] Azure readiness confirmed

Ready

• [ ] Landing zone deployed
• [ ] Governance baseline established
• [ ] Network topology defined
• [ ] Identity management configured

Adopt

• [ ] Workload assessment complete
• [ ] Migration/modernization approach selected
• [ ] Testing and validation plan
• [ ] Cutover plan documented

Govern

• [ ] Governance policies defined
• [ ] Cost management implemented
• [ ] Compliance requirements mapped
• [ ] Security baselines established

Secure

• [ ] Identity and access management
• [ ] Network security configured
• [ ] Data protection implemented
• [ ] Threat protection enabled

Manage

• [ ] Monitoring configured
• [ ] Backup and recovery tested
• [ ] Operations procedures documented
• [ ] Optimization practices established

MCP Integration

For current CAF documentation, use the microsoft-learn MCP server:

mcp__microsoft-learn__microsoft_docs_search: "cloud adoption framework [topic]"
mcp__microsoft-learn__microsoft_docs_fetch: [specific URL]

MCP Server Requirement: This skill uses mcp__microsoft-learn__* tools for fetching current Microsoft documentation. If the microsoft-learn MCP server is not configured:

1. Check availability: The skill's allowed-tools includes MCP tools - if unavailable, queries will fail
2. Fallback approach: Use WebSearch or WebFetch to access Microsoft Learn documentation directly at https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/cloud-adoption-framework/
3. Offline reference: The references/caf-pillars.md file contains static CAF reference content

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AWS Well-Architected Framework

The Well-Architected Framework provides guidance through 6 pillars:

Well-Architected Pillars

| Pillar | Focus | Key Questions | | --- | --- | --- | | Operational Excellence | Run and monitor systems | How do you manage workload and events? | | Security | Protect data and systems | How do you manage identities and permissions? | | Reliability | Recover from failures | How do you manage service failures? | | Performance Efficiency | Use resources efficiently | How do you select appropriate resources? | | Cost Optimization | Avoid unnecessary costs | How do you manage usage and cost? | | Sustainability | Minimize environmental impact | How do you reduce carbon footprint? |

Well-Architected Alignment Checklist

Operational Excellence

• [ ] Operations as code implemented
• [ ] Documentation maintained
• [ ] Small, frequent changes practiced
• [ ] Failure procedures tested
• [ ] Lessons learned captured

Security

• [ ] Strong identity foundation
• [ ] Traceability enabled
• [ ] Security at all layers
• [ ] Risk assessment automated
• [ ] Data protected in transit and at rest

Reliability

• [ ] Automatic recovery configured
• [ ] Recovery procedures tested
• [ ] Horizontal scaling enabled
• [ ] Capacity planning in place
• [ ] Change management automated

Performance Efficiency

• [ ] Right-sized resources
• [ ] Global reach where needed
• [ ] Serverless where appropriate
• [ ] Performance monitoring active
• [ ] Experimentation enabled

Cost Optimization

• [ ] Cloud financial management
• [ ] Expenditure awareness
• [ ] Cost-effective resources
• [ ] Demand management
• [ ] Optimization over time

Sustainability

• [ ] Region selection for carbon
• [ ] Resource efficiency
• [ ] Data management practices
• [ ] Software efficiency patterns
• [ ] Hardware lifecycle management

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Framework Comparison

| Aspect | Microsoft CAF | AWS Well-Architected | | --- | --- | --- | | Scope | End-to-end adoption | Workload design | | Structure | 7 methodologies | 6 pillars | | Focus | Journey/transformation | Design principles | | Governance | Strong emphasis | Part of security | | Sustainability | Part of manage | Dedicated pillar |

When to Use Which

• Starting cloud journey: Microsoft CAF (comprehensive adoption guidance)
• Designing workloads: AWS Well-Architected (design review)
• Both: Use CAF for strategy/planning, Well-Architected for implementation

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Cloud Alignment Analysis

Output Structure

# Cloud Alignment Assessment: [System Name]

**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Framework**: [CAF | Well-Architected | Both]
**Cloud Provider**: [Azure | AWS | Multi-cloud]

## Executive Summary
[High-level alignment status]

## Alignment Score

| Area | Status | Score |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Pillar/Methodology 1] | [Aligned/Partial/Gap] | X/10 |
| [Pillar/Methodology 2] | [Aligned/Partial/Gap] | X/10 |
| ... | ... | ... |

## Detailed Assessment

### [Area 1]
**Status**: [Aligned | Partial | Gap]
**Current state**: [Description]
**Recommendation**: [Action]
**Priority**: [High | Medium | Low]

## Improvement Roadmap
[Prioritized list of improvements]

## References
[Links to relevant framework documentation]

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Integration with Other Skills

• togaf-guidance: Align CAF methodologies with TOGAF phases
• gap-analysis: Use cloud frameworks to identify gaps
• architecture-documentation: Document cloud architecture decisions
• adr-management: Record cloud platform decisions

Version History

• v1.0.0 (2025-12-05): Initial release
  • Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) alignment checklists
  • AWS Well-Architected Framework pillar checklists
  • Framework comparison and guidance
  • MCP integration with fallback documentation

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Last Updated

Date: 2025-12-05 Model: claude-opus-4-5-20251101