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AWS Six WA Pillars: Sarah Cooks Us Peas

Let me share with you my mnemonic phrase to help myself remember the 6 AWS Well-Architect Framework Pillars, plus an architecture design to build your automated Compliance Gap Engine.
Claire - aka The Planted Runner - cooked us walnut pea dip

TL;DR:

This is my simple mnemonic phrase to help myself remember the 6 AWS Well-Architect Framework Pillars:
SaRah CO OX SUS PEas
The 6 AWS W-A Framework Pillars correspondance table


Introduction

Besides her job as a full-time Lead AWS Architect, Sarah is also an accomplished mum of 6.  More than often does she get involved in projects that she is not even aware of, nor is she part of the MS Teams meetings scheduled to discuss them.

As I was listening to a very interesting AWS podcast issued on the 23rd of January 2026, presented by Sébastien ☁ Stormacq with guest ☁ Philippe Desmaison - Director of Sustainability at AWS.  The latter recalled the 6 pillars, and reminded listeners that AWS provides tools to measure the distance between compliance to that framework and their current infrastructure.

Where Do You See the Pillars in That?!

Sarah cooks us peas taxonomically derives into S R CO OX SUS PEas in a form of “L33t Sp3ak”.

If you have read this article, it may be because you are an AWS Architect, and you are eager to ensure that your existing - or future, designs meet the six pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework.  So I thought that I could recall these principles by memorising this rather funny phrase.

The Fun Quarter

Tip: mnemonically, when you need to quickly remember random consonants, add “As” after consonants, like for these infamous 6-letter SNCF file codes 😉

Example: PDW => PaDaWa (n?)

It is actually a place.  If you’re travelling in New Caledonia at that time, don’t be surprised if Locals point at a direction out at sea . . .

What Next? How to Evaluate the Compliance Gap

AWS provides ample managed services to implement a CGE.

Suggestion of automated Compliance Gap Engine* (a term I coined in 2025, while working as a CCoE AWS Architect)

Architecture Design for a managed Compliance Gap Engine

Disclaimer

This article was entirely written by a human.  Guess who?

References

Les Six Piliers du AWS Well-Architected Framework
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created Friday 25 September 2026
revised Monday 28 September 2026 by
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