Portfolio ↗

Terminology

2205 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 areas2205 Architecture Fundamentals77 Distributed Systems107 Data Architecture110 Cloud Architecture94 Networking88 API & Integration Architecture82 Reliability & Resilience75 Observability70 Performance & Capacity Engineering72 Security Architecture86 Cost Architecture & FinOps71 Business Architecture67 Architecture Communication67 Enterprise Architecture66 Legacy Modernization71 AI-Era Architecture69 Software Architecture & Engineering71 Architecture Patterns71 Architecture Decision-Making63 The Architect's Meta-Skills61 Delivery & Release Engineering66 Platform Engineering & Developer Experience70 Testing & Quality Architecture66 Data Platform Architecture64 Streaming & Real-Time Data69 Data Governance & Semantics69 Frontend & Experience Architecture66 Edge, Mobile & IoT68 Regulatory & Data Protection Architecture65 Assurance, Audit & Model Risk64
Kind Any concept794 practice734 pattern368 metric125 case-study77 tool62 protocol45

4 terms shown.

Term Kind Topic What it is
Architectural Drivers practice Architectural Drivers The handful of requirements whose change would force the structure to change — the only ones worth designing against.
Architecturally Significant Requirement ASR practice Architectural Drivers The small subset of requirements whose change would force the structure to change - the only ones an architecture document owes an answer to.
Capacity Borrowing Capacity Reallocation, Priority Eviction, Shared Fleet Priority practice Architectural Drivers Serving an unpredictable new load from an existing shared fleet by displacing lower-priority work, which requires that the displaceable work be identified and shaped to be interruptible before the demand arrives.
Counterfactual Structure Test Driver Test, Would-The-Shape-Change Test practice Architectural Drivers The one-question test that separates architectural drivers from important features - remove this requirement, and would the structure of the system change?