Architecture Lifecycle Management is the comprehensive approach to governing architectural elements from conception through retirement, encompassing the processes, tools, and practices for planning, developing, implementing, utilizing, evolving, and eventually decommissioning architecture components in alignment with business needs and technology strategies.

For technical leaders, Architecture Lifecycle Management provides the overarching framework that connects architectural activities across time horizons and ensures appropriate governance throughout each lifecycle stage. Effective implementation addresses multiple dimensions: baseline architecture documenting current state; target architecture defining future vision; transition planning bridging the gap through executable roadmaps; governance processes ensuring implementation alignment; and metrics tracking architectural evolution against defined milestones. Most organizations establish stage-gate models with defined checkpoints governing progression through architectural phases—from conceptual future-state visions through logical designs, physical implementation planning, and operational realization. Technical leaders must ensure architecture lifecycle processes integrate with related disciplines including portfolio management prioritizing architectural investments; project management executing architectural changes; and operational management sustaining architecture post-implementation. Mature practices implement feedback loops connecting operational realities back to architectural planning, using performance data, incident patterns, and stakeholder feedback to continuously refine architectural direction. The governance approach typically employs a tiered model with lightweight processes for routine changes and more rigorous oversight for transformational initiatives, striking an appropriate balance between control and agility. As organizations adopt more iterative delivery methods, architecture lifecycle management evolves from sequential waterfall models toward more dynamic approaches where architecture evolves incrementally through continuous feedback, while still maintaining coherent long-term direction through guardrails, principles, and reference architectures that guide evolutionary change without requiring comprehensive up-front design.