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
Capacity Insurance Reliability Headroom, Standby Capacity	concept	Waste Elimination	Capacity that produces no value in normal operation and exists to make failures survivable - which looks identical to waste on a utilisation dashboard and must be defended explicitly.
Orphaned Resource	concept	Waste Elimination	Infrastructure that is billed but serves nothing, typically left behind when the thing it supported was deleted.
Waste Elimination Zero-Reliability-Cost Reduction, Cloud Hygiene, Orphan Cleanup	practice	Waste Elimination	Removing spend that buys nothing - orphaned resources, oversized instances, idle environments, over-retention - which is typically a substantial fraction of an unmanaged estate and costs no reliability whatsoever.
Waste Elimination	practice	Waste Elimination	Removing spend that produces no value at all — the least controversial and most consistently available saving.