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

3 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Context Diagrams	practice	Context Diagrams	The system, its users and everything it talks to — the cheapest, most durable and most under-used architecture artefact.
Outbound Dependency Census Egress-Derived Dependency Inventory, External Dependency Reconciliation	practice	Context Diagrams	Deriving the list of systems a product depends on from four independent machine-readable registers instead of from memory, then deciding which of them belong on a diagram and which belong in a register.
System Context Boundary	concept	Context Diagrams	The line separating what a project owns and can change from what it must integrate with and accept as given.