Key Concepts
Choose the right place for a model, a diagram, a document, or a review baseline
Archflow keeps one connected model and gives you several ways to read and explain it. You can start with Systems, Relationships, and one View; the other surfaces answer more specific questions.
- 01
Model
Systems and relationships describe what exists. Workflows describe what happens.
- 02
Explain
Views focus the diagram. Documents combine the model with your reasoning.
- 03
Share
A publication contains the reviewed sections you choose for your readers.
Structure, workflow, or behavior?
- 01
Relationship
Ordering calls Payments. Which systems communicate?
- 02
Workflow
Authorize payment, then approve or reject the order. What happens next?
- 03
Behavior
Authorize payment produces Payment authorized or Payment declined. What does it mean?
| Question | Use |
|---|---|
| What exists, and what communicates? | Systems and Relationships |
| What happens from start to finish? | Workflows |
| Which commands, events, and policies explain a step? | Behavior Model |
| Who owns or uses this information? | Data Model |
| Which business ability does this support? | Capability Map |
| Where does the software run? | Deployments |
A workflow step can reference the System that performs it and the behavior that explains it. Those references connect the views of the model; they do not require you to create the same System again.
Canvas, Explorer, or View?
| Surface | Use it when… | What is saved? |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture Canvas | You want to explore or build a model visually | Your canvas selection and arrangement in this browser, for the project/version. Model edits are separate |
| Explorer | You want to inspect structure and dependencies | An exploration of the selected model; it is not a shared documentation View |
| Architecture View | You want a curated diagram for a particular audience | The View's saved presentation, available for its documentation experience |
Removing an element from a canvas is different from deleting it from the model. Editing the underlying System changes that resource wherever it is referenced.
Document, Handbook, or Knowledge?
| Need | Use |
|---|---|
| “Explain our payment architecture with diagrams” | Architecture Document: a reusable narrative with model references |
| “Record why we chose this design” | Handbook: structured goals, constraints, ADRs, quality requirements, risks, and debt |
| “Give Archie the payment-provider specification” | Project Knowledge: source evidence, memories, and reviewed insights |
| “Prepare a reader experience for the operations team” | View documentation and publication: selected evidence and Documents for that audience |
A file attached to an Archie conversation stays private to that conversation unless you explicitly save it to Project Knowledge. A saved artifact preserves a result; a live resource reference follows its model context. See Document Artifacts.
Version or checkpoint?
- 01
Working version
Your editable line of architecture work.
- 02
Checkpoint A
A named capture of the saved model before a change.
- 03
Checkpoint B
Another capture after the change. Compare A and B to review it.
A version is a line of model work that you can clone, compare, and merge. A checkpoint is an immutable capture within a version. Capture a checkpoint before a review; create a version when the experiment needs its own line of work.
The selected working version determines what you are viewing. It can differ from the project's active version. Check the header before editing or interpreting a comparison.
Two kinds of simulation
- Explorer traffic-flow simulation animates workflows under chosen assumptions. It is not a production performance forecast.
- History → Simulations stores a proposed architecture change with a baseline and revisions. It does not overwrite the baseline merely because you discuss a proposal.
You can finish the quickstart without using either.