Architecture Blueprint - Headless First
Process Before Application — Logic Before Pixels. In most teams, the app is still the starting point. It's backwards.
When the process lives in the UI, you lose governance from day one:
- You can't observe or test the process without the front-end in the way.
- Business rules leak into places you can't consistently secure or audit.
- Every new channel (web, mobile, partner API) needs a new implementation — and a new compliance headache.
Headless First flips that on its head.
The API is the product. The process is the product. And the UI? Just a consumer. One of many.
The Process Definition - Start with the process, not the pixels
When designing a headless-first system, start with the process definition:
API contract
What comes in, what goes out, in unambiguous detail.
Expected behaviours
Success, failure, and every edge case in between.
Flow logic and side effects
How the process interacts with data, services, and events.
Error handling and fallback states
How the system behaves when things go wrong — because they will.
Only when the process is nailed down do you think about presentation. And usually, there are multiple presentations:
- Web app
- Mobile app
- Internal operations tool
- Partner integration
- Automated workflow trigger
All consuming the same process, all producing the same result.
Why this matters for governance - Governance by design
When the process is central and UI-agnostic:
Every execution of the process can be logged, traced, and audited — without caring which channel triggered it.
Changes to the process are applied once, tested once, and instantly inherited by every channel.
Permissions and compliance rules live where they should — at the API/process layer — not scattered across frontends.
This isn't just clean architecture. It's governance by design.
When regulations like the EU AI Act, NIS2, or ISO 27001 demand traceability and transparency, you already have them — they're not an afterthought.