Search the practice set
126 questions, 454 terms and 400 topics in 20 areas.
39 results for “Written Communication”
Technical Proposal
A written argument for a course of action, circulated for review before the work starts, structured so that disagreement surfaces early and cheaply.
Synchronous vs Asynchronous Communication
Whether the caller waits for the callee's answer — decided by whether the caller's outcome depends on it, not by latency or taste.
Architecture Decision Log
The ordered, immutable collection of a system's decision records, read as a history rather than as a specification.
Backward Compatibility
The property that a new version of a producer continues to work with clients written against the old version.
C4 Model
A set of four nested diagram levels — context, container, component, code — that keeps each diagram at one consistent level of abstraction.
Conway's Law
Systems tend to mirror the communication structure of the organisation that builds them.
Data-Flow Diagram
A diagram of how data moves between processes, stores and external entities, with trust boundaries drawn on it.
Error Budget Policy
The written agreement about what happens when the error budget is exhausted, which is what turns an SLO from a number into a control.
Failback
Returning to the primary region after a failover, including reconciling the data written while it was unavailable — the half of DR that is usually unplanned.
Negotiation
Reaching an agreement that both sides own, by trading on interests rather than arguing positions.
Presenting to Engineers
Presenting a design at the level of mechanism, including the alternatives rejected and the parts you are still unsure about.
Presenting to Executives
Leading with the decision and the business consequence, at a level of abstraction where technology names do not appear.
Sequence Diagram
A diagram showing the ordered exchange of messages between participants over time, used to make an interaction's control flow and failure points explicit.
Trade-off Analysis
Making the costs of an architectural choice explicit and comparable, rather than presenting a recommendation as if it were free.
In a design review, a respected senior engineer proposes an approach you believe is wrong. The room defers to them. How do you handle it?
What the interviewer is testing Whether you can be effective without authority, which is most of the architect's job. It is also testing whether you assume you
The business asks for "100% uptime" for a new customer portal. Walk me through the conversation that ends in an agreed SLO.
What the interviewer is testing Whether you can run a negotiation that ends in a number both sides own, rather than either capitulating or lecturing about nines
You have designed a system. Explain the same architecture to a CEO, an engineering manager and an engineer. What changes?
What the interviewer is testing Whether you can adapt to an audience, which is the skill that most often separates a senior engineer from an architect. It is al
Written Communication
Writing that survives being read without you in the room.
Technical Proposals
A written argument circulated before the decision feels made.
Writing Decision Records
Context, alternatives and consequences, written once and never edited.
Architecture Communication
General material on communicating architecture.
Architecture Diagrams
Choosing an audience and refusing to mix levels of abstraction.
Architecture Reviews
Reviewing early enough to influence rather than to veto.
C4 Model
Context, container, component and code as four separate diagrams.
Communicating Threat Models
Making risk legible to people who will fund or accept it.
Context Diagrams
The system as one box, with its users and external systems.
Conway's Law
Systems mirroring the communication structure of the organisation that builds them.
Data-Flow Diagrams
Following the data across trust boundaries rather than the calls.
Deployment Diagrams
What runs where, in which zone, behind which boundary.
Documentation Practice
Keeping documents close to the code and honest about staleness.
Explaining Trade-offs
Naming what was given up, and the condition that would change it.
Facilitation
Running a design session that reaches a decision.
Handling Disagreement
Arguing from consequences, and escalating in the room.
Negotiation
Trading on interests rather than positions, with priced options.
Presentation Skills
Structure, pacing and the slide that carries the decision.
Presenting to Engineers
Mechanism, alternatives rejected, and what you are unsure about.
Presenting to Executives
Decision first, cost, risk, and what happens if we do nothing.
Sequence Diagrams
Ordered message exchange, and walking the failure of each arrow.