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Terminology

384 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 areas384 Architecture Fundamentals16 Distributed Systems73 Data Architecture71 Cloud Architecture17 Networking13 API & Integration Architecture17 Reliability & Resilience16 Observability14 Performance & Capacity Engineering13 Security Architecture18 Cost Architecture & FinOps12 Business Architecture9 Architecture Communication8 Enterprise Architecture8 Legacy Modernization11 AI-Era Architecture15 Software Architecture & Engineering19 Architecture Patterns15 Architecture Decision-Making11 The Architect's Meta-Skills8
Kind Any concept136 practice90 pattern81 case-study26 protocol19 tool19 metric13

8 terms shown.

Term Kind Topic What it is
Architecture Decision Log ADR Log, Decision Register practice Architecture Communication The ordered, immutable collection of a system's decision records, read as a history rather than as a specification.
C4 Model practice Architecture Communication A set of four nested diagram levels — context, container, component, code — that keeps each diagram at one consistent level of abstraction.
Data-Flow Diagram DFD practice Architecture Communication A diagram of how data moves between processes, stores and external entities, with trust boundaries drawn on it.
Negotiation practice Architecture Communication Reaching an agreement that both sides own, by trading on interests rather than arguing positions.
Presenting to Engineers practice Architecture Communication Presenting a design at the level of mechanism, including the alternatives rejected and the parts you are still unsure about.
Presenting to Executives practice Architecture Communication Leading with the decision and the business consequence, at a level of abstraction where technology names do not appear.
Sequence Diagram practice Architecture Communication A diagram showing the ordered exchange of messages between participants over time, used to make an interaction's control flow and failure points explicit.
Technical Proposal Design Doc, RFC practice Architecture Communication A written argument for a course of action, circulated for review before the work starts, structured so that disagreement surfaces early and cheaply.