Terminology

2225 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 areas2225 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 Architecture74 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 Architecture69 Streaming & Real-Time Data69 Data Governance & Semantics74 Frontend & Experience Architecture66 Edge, Mobile & IoT68 Regulatory & Data Protection Architecture65 Assurance, Audit & Model Risk69

Kind Any concept801 practice736 pattern377 metric127 case-study77 tool62 protocol45

3 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Fail-Open Audit Boundary Audit Fail-Open Rule, Accountability Degradation Policy	pattern	Healthcare Data Protection	A pre-declared rule saying which classes of access may proceed when the audit trail cannot be written and which must be refused, so a logging failure does not become a safety failure or an invisible one.
Healthcare Data Protection	concept	Healthcare Data Protection	Architecture for health information — where access must be broad enough for care, auditable in detail, and safe when the system is unavailable.
Minimum Necessary Access	concept	Healthcare Data Protection	Restricting each user to the health information required for their specific role and, in the strong form, to the patients they are actually treating.