Poor architecture documentation leads to project delays and security risks

Although 63 percent of organizations claim their architecture is integrated throughout development (from design to deployment and beyond), a new study shows more than half (56 percent) have documentation that doesn't match the architecture in production.

The research from vFunction shows the impact of this architecture disconnect has potentially resulted in project delays (53 percent), security or compliance challenges (50 percent), scalability limitations (46 percent), and reduced engineering team productivity (28 percent).

As 65 percent of companies believe that AI solutions will simplify their application architecture, the need for improved governance, AI-driven insights, and advanced observability grows.

"When architectural documentation diverges from reality, businesses suffer tangible consequences," says Moti Rafalin, CEO and co-founder of vFunction. "Our research shows this isn't just a technical problem. In fact, 47 percent of organizations reported unexpected operational costs tied to misalignment between their documented architecture and what’s actually implemented. This kind of disconnect directly impacts efficiency, security, scalability, and ultimately, the bottom line."

The report also highlights a misalignment between leadership and practitioners that reveals a disconnect in how the system is understood by each role. 52 percent of executives report fully aligned documentation compared to just 36 percent of practitioners. Even more telling is that 70 percent of executives acknowledge project delays due to architectural misalignment, compared to only 49 percent of practitioners, suggesting that executives recognize business impacts while practitioners focus on technical issues.

Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents believe that AI-accelerated software development will simplify their current application architecture. This optimism suggests organizations view AI not merely as a new technology to accommodate, but as a potential solution to existing architectural challenges.

"As organizations aggressively adopt AI to automate processes and generate code, they’re introducing new layers of complexity into their architecture. AI currently lacks the system-wide view which could lead to code duplication and microservices sprawl, escalating risks in security, scalability, and compliance," Rafalin adds. "Effective governance and continuous observability are essential for controlling the consequences of AI-generated code complexity, enforcing clear architectural boundaries and preventing system failures."

You can get the full report from the vFunction site. The company is also announcing improvements to its platform that reduce complexity across the architectural spectrum and target the growing disconnect between development speed and architectural integrity.

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