The Essential Application Architecture Diagrams | Gliffy by Perforce

Why is Documenting Application Architecture Important?

Documenting application architecture is essential to every aspect of software system management, from design, to maintenance, to expansion. Good architecture documentation provides important context that shapes decisions and helps teams work better together.

The biggest challenge in building application architecture documentation is that its development must be an intentional effort. So many of the decisions that go into the creation of a software system take place in casual, interactive contexts that aren’t meant to last, like whiteboard sketches, chats between team members on Slack or email threads, or verbal conversations.

So how do you make sure you’re not losing that important context? Implement the creation of documentation into the design process, and  put in the effort to make it detailed, clear, and accessible to your team. To learn more ways to do that, check out our blog on software documentation best practices — but here we’ll focus on one important way: diagramming for documentation.