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

4 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Behavioural Specification Gap Structure-Only Reference, Diagram-Level Standard	concept	Reference Architectures	The omission in a reference architecture that specifies components and call directions but not behaviour under failure - so every team that complies invents the same timeout and retry defaults and produces the…
Executable Reference Architecture Service Template, Golden Path Template	pattern	Reference Architectures	A template that generates a working, compliant, observable, deployable service - replacing a reference document with something teams adopt because it is the fastest way to start.
Reference Architecture	concept	Reference Architectures	A pre-decided template for a recurring class of solution, capturing the decisions that do not need making again.
Reference Implementation	practice	Reference Architectures	A working example of a reference architecture that teams can run, read and copy, as opposed to a document describing one.