/ˈärkəˌtek(t)SHər/
the complex or carefully designed structure of something.
We use the term most when discussing the design of buildings and structures.
But any complex product has an architecture, whether you think about it or not.
Software?
Electrical?
Mechanical?
Yep.
When designing a building, we often start with a floor plan.
A large format, 2D representation of the “function” of that building.
We can see the whole thing at the same time.
How rooms are connected.
How they function.
We can’t see the rooflines or the tile in the shower,
but we can see enough to know where they’d go.
The floor plan describes the function of a building.
A system diagram describes the function of your product.
And it should have similar qualities.
Large format, 2D
All on one page
Show connections between components
Show component functions
Just like a floor plan, our system diagram allows us to understand how our system works at a glance.
Does your product have a floor plan?
-Brian Schoolcraft
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