Determining if any integration points create records in Salesforce, running key reports to determine what fields should be required, and reviewing the sharing model to determine impact on duplicate records are three areas of Salesforce that the architect should review before proposing any design recommendation. These areas will help to identify the sources and quality of data, the business rules and validations for data entry, and the access and visibility of data across users and roles. Reviewing the metadata xml files for redundant fields to consolidate, and exporting the setup audit trail to review what fields are being used are not necessary steps for optimizing a data stewardship engagement, as they are more related to metadata management and audit tracking.