How to best visualize software systems #

• Use C4 Diagrams
  • C4 Model
  • Used at Spotify - per Spotify engineering blog
  • Used at Atlassian - at least by one of their Principal Engineers

Thoughts #

• Diagramming shouldn't be done using drag and drop tools
  • Ilograph blog
  • Death by PowerPoint - enterprise architecture edition. If you feel your system architecture went completely off the rails, the direct cause might lie in a slide size limitation (of course skipping the organizational and cultural context that allowed this to happen).
  • Don't get me started on Enterprise Architect
• mermaid.js is absolutely amazing and I use it extensively, even in personal life to aid thinking and planning
  • mermaid live editor
  • Works in Azure DevOps
  • Works only for conceptual diagrams - due to engine limitations, (at least afaik) doesn't really work for software architecture visualizations on the level that requires icons
  • It has some learning curve, and non-technical people might struggle with it