Architecture Diagramming Standard
Priority: P1 (Standard)
Guidelines
- Use C4 Model: Context->Container->Component->Code.
- Audience-Centric: Tailor abstraction (Execs vs. Devs).
- Select Type: Sequence (Protocol), ERD (Data), State (Lifecycle), Cloud (Infra). See Selection
- Explicit Labels: Label every arrow (e.g., "Uses", "HTTPS").
- Consistent Notation: Cylinders=DB, Rectangles=Systems, Dashed=Async.
- Metadata: Title, Date, Version, Author.
- Legend Mandatory: Define all shapes/colors/styles.
- Direction:
graph LR(Flow) orgraph TD(Hierarchy). - Deployment: Map containers to infrastructure.
- Governance: CRITICAL: Review best-practices.md before starting.
Anti-Patterns
- Mixed Levels: DB columns in System Context.
- Unlabeled Arrows: Ambiguous relations.
- Mystery Shapes: Undefined in Legend.
- Dead Ends: Unconnected nodes.
- Clutter: >20 nodes/diagram.
- Acronyms: Undefined abbreviations.