Searching for relevant architecture decisions can be an onerous task, but can be very simple if the decisions are stored and indexed in a searchable repository. Having a list of important keywords or other types of categorizations defined will also aid in the search.

The primary objective is to provide the required information to the architect or implementer to ensure that the architecture or system will be compliant with the standards of the enterprise or business domain within the enterprise. Ideally this compliance is built into the define architecture and design through specifications of design or implementation constraints.