IKEVAR

Control Architecture Brief

Turning AI risk frameworks into buildable control architecture

How NIST AI RMF, OWASP LLM risks, SOC 2 readiness, and internal governance can become practical delivery artifacts.

ComplianceMarch 5, 20268 min read

Problem

Frameworks describe desired outcomes, but engineering teams need system controls, owners, evidence sources, and implementation patterns.

Architecture principle

Translate governance language into testable control architecture that connects policy intent to system components, delivery workflows, and evidence.

Control implications

  • Each control needs an owner, implementation pattern, evidence source, and test method
  • AI-specific risks should map to concrete enforcement points
  • Control exceptions should be visible and reviewable

Architecture and implementation guidance

  • Map NIST AI RMF outcomes to AI platform components, workflows, and evidence points.
  • Translate OWASP LLM risks into design requirements for prompts, retrieval, tool use, and output handling.
  • Use SOC 2 readiness thinking to define evidence registers and control traceability.
  • Create implementation-ready control libraries that engineering teams can adopt.

Design tradeoffs

  • Framework coverage versus implementation depth
  • Control standardization versus system-specific context
  • Evidence completeness versus operational overhead

Evidence to design for

  • Control traceability matrix
  • Evidence register
  • Test results
  • Architecture decision records

Implementation artifacts

  • Framework-to-control mapping
  • Control library
  • Evidence model
  • Implementation roadmap

What leadership should decide

  • Which frameworks define the enterprise baseline
  • Which controls are mandatory for each risk tier
  • Who accepts residual risk and exceptions

What engineering should build

  • Control enforcement points
  • Automated evidence where practical
  • Policy and exception workflows
  • Traceable testing and validation

Continue from architecture thinking to action

Use the related service to understand engagement scope, the industry path to add operating context, and Evidence to inspect how IKEVAR turns architecture ideas into reviewable technical artifacts.

AI Governance and Compliance Readiness ->Financial Services ->Inspect technical evidence ->
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