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

3 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Dead Letter Queue DLQ, Poison Message Queue	pattern	Dead Letter Handling	A separate destination for messages that cannot be processed successfully, so one bad message does not halt the stream behind it.
Dead-Letter Budget Diversion Budget, Poison Rate Budget	metric	Dead Letter Handling	A declared ceiling on the share and the age of records a pipeline may divert before it counts as failing rather than coping - with an owner and a defined action attached to each breach.
Poison Message	concept	Dead Letter Handling	A record that a consumer cannot process and cannot skip, which halts its partition entirely until someone intervenes.