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
Cross-Functional Requirement	concept	Functional vs Non-Functional	A quality the system must exhibit across its features rather than a behaviour it must perform, so named because it cuts across all functionality.
Functional vs Non-Functional Behaviour vs Quality of Behaviour	concept	Functional vs Non-Functional	Functional requirements say what the system does; non-functional requirements say how well, and only the second constrains structure.
Non-Functional Budget Quality Attribute Budget, Latency Budget Allocation	practice	Functional vs Non-Functional	Splitting a system-level quality target into per-component allowances with named owners, so a change can be shown to have spent someone's allowance rather than merely argued about.