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

65 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Suppression List Do-Not-Reprocess List, Erasure Tombstone Registry	pattern	Data Subject Rights	A durable record of identifiers that must not be re-ingested, preventing an in-flight or replayed pipeline from recreating data that was just erased.
Third-Party Risk Assessment Vendor Risk, Supplier Assurance	practice	Third-Party Risk	Evaluating the security, resilience and compliance posture of suppliers whose failure would become your incident.
Transfer Mechanism	concept	Cross-Border Transfer	The specific legal instrument permitting personal data to leave a jurisdiction, which must exist per flow and which architecture must make identifiable.
Unintentional Transfer Incidental Transfer, Shadow Data Flow	concept	Cross-Border Transfer	Personal data crossing a jurisdictional boundary through a path nobody classified as a transfer - telemetry, support access, backups, or a processor's staff - which is what audits actually find.
Use-Time Enforcement Check at the Point of Use, Consent as a Service	concept	Consent Architecture	Checking permission at the moment data is used rather than at the moment it is collected, because a copied permission flag is stale the moment it is made.