Terminology

2240 terms, tools, patterns and metrics an architect is expected to use precisely. Each one gets a short explanation of what it is, and — where it matters — what it is commonly confused with. Search filters as you type; the column headers sort.

All areas2240 Architecture Fundamentals77 Distributed Systems107 Data Architecture110 Cloud Architecture94 Networking88 API & Integration Architecture82 Reliability & Resilience80 Observability75 Performance & Capacity Engineering72 Security Architecture86 Cost Architecture & FinOps71 Business Architecture67 Architecture Communication67 Enterprise Architecture66 Legacy Modernization71 AI-Era Architecture74 Software Architecture & Engineering71 Architecture Patterns71 Architecture Decision-Making63 The Architect's Meta-Skills61 Delivery & Release Engineering66 Platform Engineering & Developer Experience70 Testing & Quality Architecture71 Data Platform Architecture69 Streaming & Real-Time Data69 Data Governance & Semantics74 Frontend & Experience Architecture66 Edge, Mobile & IoT68 Regulatory & Data Protection Architecture65 Assurance, Audit & Model Risk69

Kind Any concept806 practice738 pattern379 metric133 case-study77 tool62 protocol45

69 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Single-Credential Test Can One Credential Do Both, Segregation Reality Check	practice	Segregation of Duties	Asking whether any single credential - including a database administrator, a root account or a deployment pipeline - can both initiate and approve a movement of value, which distinguishes a real segregation co…
Three Lines Model Three Lines of Defence	concept	Three Lines Model	The organisational separation between those who own and manage risk, those who oversee and challenge, and those who provide independent assurance.
Time-Boxed Waiver	practice	Exception & Waiver Management	An approved deviation from a standard that carries an owner, a justification, a compensating control and an expiry date after which it is reconsidered.
Toxic Combination	concept	Segregation of Duties	A pair of permissions that is acceptable individually and dangerous together, which is what a segregation-of-duties model exists to identify.
Use Case Risk Classification	practice	AI Risk Tiering	Assigning an AI application to a risk tier based on the consequence of it being wrong, which then determines the obligations that apply.
Validated Envelope Model Use Envelope, Validation Boundary	concept	Model Risk Management	The explicit conditions a model's validation actually covers - input schema, population, feature sources, thresholds, upstream versions - outside which the sign-off does not hold and the serving path must refu…
Waiver as Code Machine-Readable Exception, Gate-Readable Waiver	pattern	Exception & Waiver Management	Storing each approved deviation where the enforcement point reads it - rule id, scope, owner, justification, compensating control, expiry - so an exception stops a block automatically and its expiry becomes a …
Waiver Expiry Time-Bounded Exception, Expiring Risk Acceptance	practice	Exception & Waiver Management	A mandatory end date on every exception to a standard, so that continuing the exception is an active decision rather than the default.
Warn-Mode Debt Advisory Gate Backlog, Non-Blocking Policy Debt	concept	Architecture Compliance Checks	The accumulated violations of a policy that has only ever warned, which makes switching it to blocking politically impossible and hides how many of its rules are simply wrong.