Blast Radius

Blast Radius analysis helps you understand the ripple effect of changes to any system in your architecture. Before modifying, replacing, or removing a system, see exactly which other systems, workflows, and processes would be affected.

Accessing Blast Radius

From your project navigation, click Architecture → Blast Radius to open the Blast Radius page.

How It Works

Select a system to analyze, and Archflow calculates:

• Directly affected systems --- Systems with direct connections to the target
• Indirectly affected systems --- Systems further down the dependency chain
• Affected workflows --- Business processes that include the target system
• Impact severity --- How critical each affected element is

Blast Radius Diagram

The analysis renders an interactive diagram showing:

• The target system at the center
• Concentric rings of impact radiating outward
• Color-coded severity (direct impact vs. indirect impact)
• Connection lines showing the dependency paths

Blast Radius Report

The report accordion provides detailed breakdown:

Affected Systems

• List of all systems impacted by changes to the target
• Categorized by direct vs. indirect impact
• Shows the dependency path from the target to each affected system

Affected Workflows

Each affected workflow is shown with:

• Workflow name and description
• Which steps involve the target system
• Impact assessment for the business process
• Link to the workflow detail page

Complexity Matrix

Combined view of blast radius and complexity metrics:

• Cross-references coupling analysis with impact analysis
• Helps identify systems that are both highly coupled and have large blast radius
• Useful for prioritizing refactoring efforts

Use Cases

Before Refactoring

Run blast radius analysis before making significant changes:

• Identify all systems that need testing after the change
• Understand which teams need to be notified
• Estimate the scope and risk of the refactoring

Risk Assessment

Use blast radius for architectural risk assessment:

• Systems with large blast radius are high-risk dependencies
• Consider redundancy or abstraction layers for critical systems
• Document mitigation strategies for high-impact components

Change Management

Include blast radius analysis in change proposals:

• Show stakeholders the full scope of proposed changes
• Justify timeline and resource estimates
• Support go/no-go decisions with data

Blast Radius in Published Documentation

Blast radius analysis can be included in published documentation:

• Toggle blast radius visibility in the publish section selector
• Readers can explore the impact analysis interactively
• Useful for architecture reviews and stakeholder presentations

Archie Integration

Ask Archie to analyze blast radius directly:

• "What's the blast radius if we change the payment gateway?"
• "Which workflows would be affected if the API server goes down?"
• Archie uses the getBlastRadius tool to provide detailed impact analysis

Next Steps