cards42.org

Cards for Analyzing and Reflecting on Doomed Software
The image for the card with the name Mini architecture documentation
Download: PNG PDF SVG

Many people associate architecture documentation with long and complex documents — mostly of questionable validity. The barriers are correspondingly high, even to start with a documentation. But this can be quite simple, as demonstrated by our Minidocu.

Start by stating the business reason for the software or briefly describe it. So it is clarified why you need this software at the first place. Then note the three most important quality attributes, sorted according to their priority. Finally, list the most important design decisions so that they are sustainably documented and verifiable.

With this minimalistic version of a documentation, you can lay the foundation for a more comprehensive architectural documentation. To create this without unnecessary overhead, a template such as arc42 can be used.

More information

  • The architecture documentation toolkit arc42 and especially the FAQ section give you pointers to a minimalistic documentation.
  • Lightweight, developer-friendly documentation approach Docs as Code shows you how you can make documentation a first-class citizen.